Redneck in Gotham
by BlueAsh666
Summary: She didn't WANT to be in Gotham. She was a born country girl, and way out of her element there, but... if her dad wanted her to live there with her scientist uncle, she would do it. Even IF she had to sit next to some high cotton, uppity-ass guy in five out of seven classes who, by the way, is Batman's sword-wielding sidekick... At least things were eventful. DamianxOC
1. Chapter 1

Farrah Bowman never wanted to go live in Gotham. Let's get that straight, first and foremost... Farrah, or 'Far' as her friends were so fond of calling her, was strictly a country girl. Redneck at heart, and _proud_ of it.

There were some things that differed her from the average hick, of course... She preferred rock to country, and was more interested in video games and superhero comics as a child, honing her skills with the guitar and harmonica, rather than squirrel hunting with her BB gun along with the boys on the street (though that was fun, too). The other girls in the small little town of Ludowici seemed awfully keen on going out and seeing the bright lights of a big - like, for instance, Gotham City...

But not her. Far was one of the handful who was perfectly happy in the sleepy little town. She was more than content on her acre and a half of land, exploring with her two faithful mutts and fishing in the surprisingly deep pond. She loved the clean air, she loved all the rain. She loved the swamps, and all the wild blackberries. She loved walking along the road with her mom and dad, catching fireflies at the beginning of dusk. She loved the lightning storms, and sneaking out to sit with the dogs in the barn, letting them curl around her and take a nap. Yes, everything closed just after six, save for a few gas stations and the small, always-crowded movie theatre, but she had plenty of fun despite that. Way more fun, she was sure, than she could ever even hope to have in Gotham.

So, that was why it was so _crushing_ to have to leave her home. It was a small, one-story house, that she remembered to have once been a trailer, long ago, but man, it was _hers_... Or at least, it used to be... Her father had gotten laid off, and he couldn't afford to feed both her and her little brother.

_Well_... he _could_, but just barely. Far was more than willing to give up some things to keep her little sibling well-fed, but her father hated it. He knew she would be much better off if she went to live with his brother. His brother, her uncle Charles (she called him Charlie in her head), was a scientist.

In Gotham... _Gotham_.

Farrah shuddered in her seat, train rumbling under her feet as it approached the ever-closer city. She didn't look out the window; she knew it would only make her feel worse.

Gotham was... well, she supposed it wasn't _too_ bad, if she tried to look on the bright side as hard as she could... The schools were much better, so she was told... And it was home to _Batman_. The city had it's own superhero mascot!

But if she looked on the not-so-bright side, it was also a polluted, crowded, ridiculously crime-infested city with nary a naturally placed tree or swamp in sight... And let's not forget: with superheroes came super-crazies trying to take over the world, starting with the city they were in and _w__ho was she kidding_, she was going to be miserable, plain and simple...

She would be completely out of her element. And the fact that her uncle was socially-challenged didn't help. She could vaguely remember him in a distant Christmas. Not much of what he looked like, but she distinctly remembered how he blew up the turkey, and stuttered a lot. And he taught her how to make a rather domestic bomb out of diet cola and mentos...

And she may or may not have grown in her knowledge of such things. Because _damn it all_, she liked making things go boom! She had her own little spot in the barn where she made them and everything!

A grimace crossed her face as a thought hit her... She _used_ to have a spot in the barn. _Used_ to... but she didn't live there anymore, so it was probably gone by now...

The urge to hug her two dogs hit her, but they were states away... Her mom and dad had told her that they would see if they could get her uncle to agree to live with her two dogs so she wouldn't be so lonely, but she hadn't heard much about that and her hopes weren't very high...

"We are now reaching our final destination, folks, so it's time to get ready to meet dear old Gotham City. Thanks for riding the metro, we hope your ride was enjoyable, and you all have a good night."

Farrah glanced up at one of the speakers and made a face. "I don't think that's very likely, bo'," She sighed, southern twang thick with emotion, "'Cause I sure as hell am gonna be out a' kilter in this yankee-town..."

A clean-cut man in a blue coat sitting across from her tried to suppress a smile as he looked at her. "You're... not from around her, are you?"

"Nope," She answered dryly, "What was yer first clue...?"

"The accent." He chuckled. "The plaid helped some, too."

She shrugged as she stood up and slid her single-strapped backpack over her head, grabbing the large duffel back and throwing it across her shoulder as she walked over and grabbed one of the poles. "Y'know, ta me, _yer_ the one with the accent."

He gave her a small smile as he stood next to her. "Don't worry too much about Gotham... We've got our own, personal heroes guarding the streets. Just stay out of alleys, and you'll be okay. And... stay out of the ghettos. And don't go near the asylum."

Her shoulders drooped. "Yeah... yer not makin' me feel any better 'bout this place..."

The man laughed. "Sorry... Just... try not to worry about it too much, and you'll be fine."

"Sure, sure," She muttered, "But I reckon it's _a little _too late for that..."

"You'll be fine!" He assured her as the doors opened. He rushed out and waved back at her. "I'll see you around, kid!"

She walked out and made a face. "Now what in the hell are you smokin'? Theres only some _thousand_ people in this here place..."

The first thing she noticed was that the air was thicker than she was used to, and tasted a bit... sour, if that made any sense. Rain pattered against the sidewalk, a small comfort to the girl, as she walked to the parking lot where her uncle was (hopefully) waiting.

It wasn't really all that hard to find him. There was only one car in the parking lot due to the fact that it was around two in the morning, and all the lights in the car were on, _and_ Charlie waved at her to come over from inside the car. Trying to ignore the huge, rather intimidating buildings in the background, Farrah leisurely strolled over to the car as Charlie got out with an umbrella and jogged over, slipping a few times as he did so.

Towering over her, he mumbled something to her as he held the umbrella over her head (probably a greeting) and started to take her duffel bag.

"Hey now, no need fer none 'a that, Charlie," She told him, almost _offended_, "Yer already lettin' me stay at yer place an' eat yer food. I can tote my own stuff, it's fine!"

He fidgeted with his hands as he led her to the trunk and opened it. "I-it's no trouble, I assure you! You j-just rode th-the train for hours... I thought... thought you might be tired."

She gave a wry smile, showing off her dimples as she threw her few bags in the trunk ungracefully and shut the trunk. "Well, yeah, I am pretty tired... but tha's life, I reckon. Just gotta deal... But what about you, how do?"

Charlie blinked. "I-I... Uh... what...?"

She faltered and gave him a look to make sure he was serious. _These people couldn't even speak the goddamn Queen's english_. "Err... How've you been? I haven't heard from you since... it was so long, I can't even remember. I was 'bout knee-high to a grasshopper."

Maybe it was the dark, but he almost looked a little guilty. "I... yeah... S-sorry..." And awkward silence went on between them before Charlie cleared his throat. "You're... probably tired, we should... get in the car and take you h-home."

Farrah hummed and nodded. "Sounds like a right good plan to me."

As they got in the car and Charlie revved up the engine, Farrah took the time to take a good look at her uncle.

He was a skinny, almost ridiculously tall man, having to hunch down to prevent his head from hitting the roof of the car. Pale, with wild and wavy hair. He had sideburns that framed the side of his face. White hairs from stress melted up from his facial hair into his reddish brown hair. He had heavy bags under his eyes and lines on his face from, she guessed, stress, and five o'clock shadow.

Charlie caught her looking at him and blushed, holding out his hand for her to shake. "Um, h-hi. I-I'm your uncle... you-you're Farrah, correct...?"

She nodded and shook his hand. "Yep. It's nice to meetcha."

The man nodded and stared at the steering wheel, twisting his hands together nervously. "Um... i-it takes awhile, to get to my home... you could sleep, i-if you want..."

"Sounds good, cap'n," She told him as she stifled a yawn. "Jus' wake me when we get there..."

As it turns out, Farrah had been more tired than she thought, because as soon as her head leaned against the window, she knocked out almost instantly. Just one thought ran through her head before it all went to black.

_She wanted to go back home_.

* * *

**Author's note~**

**Damian died, and I was not, and still am not, happy. So I decided '_bump it_', and changed it in my head. Damian was a little shit, but he was MY little shit, and he didn't even die in a good way! And the only reason he even existed was to give Batman MAN-ANGST?! HELL no. Batman's got enough shit on his plate, let him be happy for once!**

***Ahem, anyways... This is my... uh... it's a thing. Not worth calling a tale yet, but it'll get there. Maybe. Basically, it's an AU where Damian didn't die, he just... um, well, you'll see.**

**This is just the beginning, so it's not much to look at yet, but I hope you didn't... hate it...? Thanks for reading, regardless if you did or not :)**

**,_Blue_**


	2. Chapter 2

When Farrah woke up, it was still dark, so she stayed under the covers to hear her roosters crow just like she always did. It was kind of her alarm clock... Something about those roosters, man, they alway started screaming at five thirty. Never a minute too early or late. If it weren't so convenient, she might have been more curious about it...

After a few minutes of waiting, counting in her head, she was a little confused.

After ten minutes, she started to get a little mad. _What were they doing out there...?_

Once she got to twenty minutes, she went into a panic. "Somethin's wrong!" She yelped.

The girl threw her blanket off and flew out of her room. She was so frantic that the fact that she didn't recognize _anything_ didn't process in her head. When she finally got to the front door and tried to open it, it was locked. So, since it was locked, she _may_ or _may not_ have ended up slamming into the surprisingly heavy door and given her self either a minor concussion or a large lump on her head. But she didn't have time for that, her chickens-the ones she raised from little eggs to adulthood-were in danger! Once she managed to unlock the door, she all but ripped it off of it's hinges in her hurry to get out, she was met with a very unfamiliar sight...

Farrah blinked and rubbed the sleep out her eyes. "What in sam hell...?" She mumbled tiredly as it hit her. She hadn't heard the chickens because there were none... She was in Charlie's place, or she had been abducted (hopefully not the latter), and he/they lived in an apartment.

It was a rather depressing sight, really. The dingy lights above every apartment door gave the floor a rather ominous look. And everything seemed to be grayer... though, that may have been because she was still half-asleep.

Biting back a grimace, the girl retreated back inside and walked over into the small kitchen to check the time.

_Four thirty_. She was an hour early... A yawn snuck out as she leaned against the counter and tried to gather her bearings.

It was funny... She didn't even remember waking up in the car and getting inside the place, much less crawling into bed...

Farrah put two and two together, only to groan and slap her palm to her forehead. He must have carried her up the stairs... _God_, she just couldn't stop being a nuisance to the guy, it seemed. He had already been forced from his bed at an ungodly hour because of her, and then he'd hauled her _fat ass_ into his apartment, _then_ went back and got her crap!

"I hate myself." She grunted into her palm quietly before looking around.

The kitchen wasn't really anything special... Just your average apartment kitchen. But one thing in particular caught her eye. _A coffee machine_.

"Coffee," She breathed, "I could go fer some a' that... An' I bet when Charlie wakes up, he could, too..." Another thought hit her as she looked at the fridge. "An' I reckon I could make him some breakfast, too..."

* * *

Too bad she didn't know that he was already awake... Minutes after putting the coffee on, the scrawny man came cautiously shuffling out of his room in some pajama pants and a dress shirt with a heavy metal baton in hand.

"F-Farrah..?" He called cautiously, sniffing the air. "_Please_ tell me that's you cooking in the kitchen."

The sound of something hitting against wood and a loud curse filled the air as a pan slapped against the metal stove. "_Fuck_, concussion!"

Charlie winced and rushed into the kitchen, only to drop the baton. "W-what...? Is this...?"

Farrah , who was leaning against the wall clutching the side of her forehead, froze. A guilty look crossed her face and she gestured around the kitchen, where bacon sizzled on a pan, waiting to get onto the two waiting plates of scrambled eggs. "Surprise...?"

Charlie blushed and rubbed his neck. "You-you could have gotten me... I would have c-cooked breakfast for you..."

She faltered and gave him a look. "Whatcha mean, cook for me...? This ain't for me, this is fer _you_, Cap'. An' if you don't want it, I'll eat it an' make somethin' else... I wasn't real sure of what you liked, so I jus' made the basic stuff and hoped fer the best..." She twiddled her thumbs. "Am I... in trouble...?"

"N-no!" The man stuttered, face turning even darker, "I-I just... I'm sorry. I've never really had company before, and this is all new to me-" He cleared his throat and rubbed his arm awkwardly. "I, um... appreciate this... Th-thank you."

She nodded and hummed before pulling her hand from her head and glancing at it. "No prob'..." It might have been the light, but it _sort of_ looked like her hand was stained in blood. She blinked at her hand before holding her palm out to him. "Am I bleeding?"

The tall man cocked his head to the side. "Well... come into the light and I'll see." When she did as he asked, he nearly fainted. "Oh... oh my... L-let me get my first aid kit!"

As the man scrambled for said thing, Far put her hand back to her throbbing head and pulled away. "_Oh_..." She mumbled tiredly, "Guess I _am_ bleeding... whoops..."

Charlie all but sprinted back, and picked her up with surprising strength and sat her on the counter. He pulled out some disinfectant and a rag out of a small plastic container and went to work, despite the girl's protests.

"I'm fine!" She insisted, "Go eat... unless you don't like eggs and bacon... if you don't, I can make pancakes..."

"No, no!" He exclaimed quickly, "I-it's fine! I just... wanna fix you up, first." She hummed in response, and as he wiped some of the blood away, he asked tentatively, "A-and if you don't mind me asking, what are you doing up so early, anyways...?"

This time it was _her_ turn to blush as she fumbled with her words and said what sounded best. "Oh, uh... I was just-I didn't-uh... School an' stuff, y'know...? That's my education, there, and I don't wanna miss out on it." She added even quieter under her breath, hoping he wouldn't hear, "_An' I thought somethin' was killin' my chickies._.."

Charlie tried to suppress a snicker but failed, only to apologize. "I-I'm sorry," He smiled. "I've just... I have never heard something so... so..."

"Stupid-soundin'?" She offered as he spread some disinfectant cream on her forehead. "Maybe crazy? Ridiculous?"

"Let's go with _new_." He replied as he tried to keep himself from snorting. "I've never heard anyone say that before... it's... new."

"Sure, sure," She shrugged. "I'll take it. You could'a said worse, I reckon... So since I ain't bleedin' out on the floor, can we go an' eat, now? 'Cause I for one, am starvin'."

"I suppose we could..." A wry smile crossed his face, and it struck Farrah that that was the first time she had ever seen him smile. And that he looked _years_ younger when he smiled.

"Awlright, cool." She cocked her head to the side as she watched him curiously. "And you should smile more, y'know... I hear tell that it's good for ya."

He blushed and looked down at his hands. "Yes, I-I know... It's hard sometimes, s-smiling... being a scientist is a lonely and thankless job..."

A frown tugged at the girl's lips as she watched him. She remembered her dad tell her about how he lived all alone... _That must've sucked._ "Yeah, well... Not anymore, y'hear? Not while I'm around an' kickin'." She spat into her palm and held it out for him to grab. "Deal?"

"Sure." A look mixed with disgust and amusement crossed his face as he stared at her blood and spit covered palm. "Am I... Am I supposed to shake that...?"

She tried not look at him like he was an idiot and reminded herself to be patient. "_Yeah_."

"But... there-there's spit on it."

"That's _kinda_ the point, mister Ph.D.."

"Blood, too..." He observed with a face. "Quite a bit of it..."

Farrah nodded. "Makes it all the better an' junk. More meanin'ful, yeah?"

Charlie's face twisted with disgust, but he put his hand in hers and shook it firmly once before pulling his hand to his chest. "I, uh... I'm going to go... disinfect my hand, before we eat..."

She laughed. "Boy, you'd _die_ in the country!"

"I would indeed." He shot back over his shoulder.

With a snort, she eased herself back onto the ground before moving the bacon from the pan to the egg-filled plates. "The bacon burnt. And the coffee's done..."

"Good," He replied, "I-I quite prefer it burnt. And I could use a cup of coffee..."

"You an' me, both, sir," She grinned. "I'd need about seven cups to get through the day, today..."

Charlie hummed as he lathered, rinsed, and repeated, "I suppose I could lend you my extra-large canteen to get you through school today..."

At the mention of school, she jumped and accidentally burned her left hand. Hissing a curse under her breath before turning to look at the tall man dubiously. "_School?!_"

"But of course!" He replied easily, "Since you were so concerned about it, I would hate for you to have woken up at four in the morning for nothing..."

She let out a groan. "_Noooo_..."

He let out a quiet chuckle before he asked her, "By the way, have you met my cat, Griffin...?"

Farrah _started_ to tell him no, when red-hot pain crawled down her leg. She must have jumped up five feet in the air, as she yelped loudly.

"Aww, he likes you..."

Hopping around one foot as the man and a sand-colored cat watched her with an amused look in both their faces, she slid up her pants leg, only to see four bright-red and jagged scratches running down her already scarred skin. Ruby blood began to pearl along the scratches as she looked.

"Gosh darn it!" She whined, "I got enough scars on my person as it is, then that daggon _demon_ comes an' mutilates me!"

Charlie snorted into his hand and tried not to smile. "That means he loves you..."

"I don't _want_ his frickin' love!" She retorted, glaring at the cat and started barking to try and scare the cat away. "Raff! Woof, _woof!_"

The cat, Griffin, cocked its head to the side and continued to stare at the girl.

"_Sir_, Mr. Boss Man," She squeaked, trying not to be afraid, "It's looking at me. It's _staring_. Make it stop."

"It's just a _cat_." He reminded her.

"It's plottin' ta kill me!" She shot back. "You can see it in it's eyes! I just wanna eat in peace, and it's plannin' ta kill me!"

"No, it's not." Charlie chuckled. "It's just looking at you. Do you have a phobia of cats...?"

"_No!_" She defended quickly, "I just... I've never really _seen_ one, except for dead ones on the side a' the road, but I don't think that counts... An' it _attacked_ me, fer pete's sake!"

"That's just how cats show affection." He informed her.

"That's fuckin' stupid!" She retorted, "That's why dogs are better! They don't _attack_ people to show their love, they just kiss 'em an' stuff! _Way_ better!"

"But cats have more personality." He replied easily, amusedly.

Farrah scoffed and gave him a look. "_Clearly_, you haven't ever got the right dog, Cap'. My dogs have personality more'n me half the time."

Another smile crossed his face. "Oh really...?"

"Yup," She nodded, "I swear, sometimes they act jus' like people... I care more about 'em than I care 'bout myself, an' that's a fact, right there. They're my best buds."

Charlie studied her curiously. "Is that so?"

"Mm-hmm." She hummed, "Now, if you would be so kind as to let me begone of yer little, uh... Griffon...?"

The man nodded and called for his cat while holding his arms out. "Here, boy! Come here, Griff'." Griffin turned to the tall, awkward man and the cat's eyes lit up. The cat walked over and leaped into Charlie's arms before crawling up his arm to perch on his shoulders.

Farrah, who had watched the whole spectacle with curious eyes, stared at Charlie, causing him to blush as she finally grinned. "'Kay... I've gotta admit... That's actually purty cool." She started to say something about how if she ever tried to do that with her hounds it'd kill her 'cause _man_ her dogs were _fat_, but got cut off by her stomach making a loud, dying whale noise. Farrah blushed a bit and glanced over at the waiting food. "Can we, uh... go 'head an' eat 'fore my stomach digests itself...?" An agreeable howling noise came from her stomach as soon as she finished talking.

And then, Charlie laughed. Not just that quiet, breathy chuckle, but full-on _laughed_. It was the very first time the redneck had heard it. Something about that laugh was familiar, and made her feel _safe_. And it was then that Farrah decided that maybe, _maybe_ she would be able to tolerate Gotham City, if just because of her awkward uncle.

"Alright, Farrah, let's hurry up and eat so you can get ready for school. Once you're ready, we can just relax."

Far's shoulders slumped as she let her head fall back with a groan. "Aw, _booo_, Cap'..."

* * *

**Author's Note~**

**Up next! First day of school, where our redneck first gets to meet Damian Wayne and have a chat with dear ol' dad. And a surprise at the end of school...Woo! And I really shouldn't say this, but I've got some big plans for this little tale. BIG plans. Be ready, yo! Not now, but later, there'll be some gruesome, emotional junk. And a lot of superhero comics...  
**

**Also, I'd just like to say thanks to the lovely people who've given my little story a read. I really do appreciate it, and I LOVE YOU BBIES. I know the summary must have souded kind of weird, and the title doesn't really help much either... This was... a _weird_ idea. I'll be the first to admit that. But it's out now, and I'll try my damnedest to finish it.  
**

**And yeah, I know this was short... Sorry about that. This was kind of a Part 2 to the beginning, really. Once things get going, they SHOULD be longer. Oh, and the romancey bit might take a while to start up... Are you really surprised, though? It's DAMIAN WAYNE. I don't quite think he's the type to fall head over heels in a few days. **

**(Last thing, promise) To Bre Renee, I'd LOVE to tell you, honest I would, but... It's kind of hard to put into words, how Damian died. I'd hate to ruin it... though, there isn't much more I can do to ruin it. The art was kinda iffy, but over-lookable. Just... when you get the chance, read Batman Inc. #8. And the one right after it and tell me about, because I haven't gotten the chance to read it yet.**

**I hope my goofy little tale made you smile, even IF Damian or anyone else from the Bat Family hasn't shown up yet. Things'll pace up soon, I think.**

**,_Blue_**


	3. Chapter 3

Farrah stared back into the mirror unamusedly, glaring at her clothes. Turns out, the school she was going to, Gotham High, had a uniform. It _kind of_ disgusted her. She didn't even dress this uptight when she'd go to _church_ Sunday night.

A pristine and ironed white dress shirt that clung too close to her skin lay under an equally clean black suit jacket that, again, hugged her a little too tight. And she had to wear a black _tie_. _Yuck_... Luckily, she had a choice of either a dress skirt or pants... pants all the way. She would have been more comfortable in jeans, but what was she gonna do? It wasn't like her old school, that was for sure...

At her old high school, she could have worn her _PJs _if she'd wanted to. Hell, one of her buddies showed up in a _gorilla costume_ once.

As she glared at her uniform, she thanked God that she was allowed to wear her old, red plaid, lumberjack style jacket over her uniform. So, with all three sleeves rolled up, she looked back into the mirror one last time...

Her hazel eyes stared back at her. Her tanned skin and scraped forehead looked out of place in the clean and neat school uniform. Freckles from staying out in the sun too long splotched across the bridge of her nose and cheeks, and hair that could only be described by her as _dusty brown_ spilled down her back. Her bare forearms had pale scars all over them, especially her hands and her elbows.

She was _not_ looking forwards to school. Not one bit... She knew she wasn't stupid, and if she didn't understand what they were doing in school, she could just ask. Farrah was sure she would be able to do decent in Gotham High. But from what she'd heard, yankees, _especially_ the kids, were a bunch of prissy, snotty little _brats_. Snotty little brats that thought that rednecks were uneducated white trash.

And it was true... Some of the people were just that. But some of them... some of them were smart as _hell_. Not in math or science, no, but the stuff that _mattered_. Hunting, and fixing leaks in the roof and the washing machine and the car, how to grow food and, if they wanted, be completely independent from everything. And even then, they could be so much more... one just had to take a chance and look for the signs, the hints; the subtle little clues that people left behind even though they didn't always _want_ to leave them behind because sometimes, they didn't _want_ people to find more.

Farrah grimaced. Sometimes... she thought into stuff a little too much...

Hopefully, the kids at Gotham would prove to be like the kids at Ludowici. Some were the stereotype, but the rest were far more... well, _more_.

"Reckon we'll jus' have ta wait an' see..." She finally sighed to herself before walking out of the bathroom and into the small, messy but comfortable living room. There was a lot of stuff laying around in the room in a sloppy but thought-out way. Farrah liked it... she'd never liked empty spaces, really.

Charlie was sitting on the small couch and waved her over. She dragged herself there and dropped onto the couch. The TV was on, playing Samurai Jack.

A smile crossed her face as she watched the cartoon. "I love this show. Watched it since I was jus' a young'un."

The man hummed in acknowledgement. "I know... So are-are you ready for school?"

"As ready as I'm ever gonna get." She replied dryly, wincing and grinning as Jack fought with that Scottish dude.

"Well then, there's no need for you to stay longer," Charlie informed her, handing her a large canteen filled with coffee as he had promised, "Let's go."

Farrah raised a brow and glanced at the clock. "It's only six forty... School don't start 'till seven forty-five, Cap'."

"In Ludowici, maybe, b-but this is Gotham," He reminded her. "The first period is to start soon, if it hasn't already..."

She gave the man a dubious look. "You yankin' my chain...?" When he shook his head, the girl heaved a sigh. "This place, these folks... _crazy_..." She made a face at the ceiling before heaving a sigh and dragging herself to her feet. "_Awlright_, I'm up... An' I'm ready fer Hell."

* * *

Farrah shivered as she followed the short, rather portly but friendly woman through the empty halls. Row after row of lockers and doors passed as they walked through the impeccably clean school. No friendly faces of janitors who waved or threw a piece of gum as she walked by, or roaming students who had decided to skip class, walking with her and chatting about how stupid math or Spanish is with her until she got where she needed to be. No carpet filled with sand. No paintings that looked like they were done by first graders hung up on the wall. No pictures or gift wrapping taped to the outsides of any lockers.

If it weren't so _intimidating_, she would have thought it was dull as _hell_.

The woman, Mrs. Potts, finally stopped in front of a door and knocked. The older woman gave the girl an assuring smile. "Don't worry... Mr. Wolfe is a good teacher. He'll treat a sweet girl like you nice."

Farrah tried to smile, but she was pretty sure it came out as a grimace. The door opened, and her grimace turned into a bewildered look.

A tall man with cropped blonde hair and stubble opened the door. But that wasn't the thing that had her change her tune so quick. It was the fact that the man was... well, he was in Roman armor. Shield, sandals, sword and all.

"I have a new student for you, Mr. Wolfe!" Mrs. Potts chirped happily. "Her name's Farrah Bowman." Said girl swallowed thickly and bowed her head politely.

"Ah, yes! A new recruit for the the Legion!" The man boomed with a broad grin, bowing to the woman. "I'll take it from here, my lady." Mrs. Potts patted Farrah's shoulder with a smile before scurrying back down the hall.

Mr. Wolfe pulled her in his room and to the front of the class. "Class! This is Farrah, our latest recruit!" He looked down at Farrah, who was looking around with a curious, if a bit confused look. Various colorful posters that ranged from being cartoon posters to pictures of the Coliseum and the Great Wall of China and knick-knacks adorned the walls. And one whole wall was filled with superhero posters and comic book covers. _Was this really a class...?_

"Would you like to tell us about yourself?" The man asked, gesturing to the class of curious teens.

The girl made a face and held out her hands. "Uh... how's about _no_."

A voice from the group snickered. "What's up with her accent...?."

"Y'know, to me, _yer_ the one with am accent," She shot back to the direction of the voice.

"And why are you wearing _plaid?_"

"Why is there a _uniform?_ We're in high school, not Church. Clothes don't do anything ta distract people from school work, unless, of course, yer a damn fool..."

The Legionnaire nodded and pointed his shield to one of the students. "She _told_ you, Britney. Now stop being a jerk and shut your face while I do teacher stuff!" The man held his hand out. "Would you let me see your schedule, recruit?"

The girl shrugged one shoulder. "I reckon." She pulled the folded up paper from her pocket and handed it to him, watching as his eyes scoured over the paper, mumbling to himself before standing up straight and nodding.

"Excellent!" He told her. "Everything checks out. Not let me find you a seat..." He looked around the class before finally asking loudly, "Are there any free seats?!"

Another girl's voice called out, "There's some next to Damian."

Mr. Wolfe clapped his hands together. "Excellent!" He glanced back to Farrah. "But before that..." He rushed over to his desk and threw something long and thin at her face. "On guard!"

Farrah (just barely) caught it, only to raise a brow. "Is this a swor-oh Jesus!" She yelped, moving the guarded sword to block a swing from Mr. Wolfe's wooden sword.

"Brilliant!" The eccentric man cheered, laughing, "Would you care to duel, Recruit?"

She blinked. "Fer real...?" When the man nodded, her eyes lit up as a dimpled grin crossed her face. "You know it, sir!" She pulled the wood sword from its scabbard and put her left leg back for more balance.

Mr. Wolfe gave a hearty laugh before going forward and taking a swing for her head. She ducked and elbowed his chest, hearing a satisfying _oomph_ before jumping back.

The man shot her a grin and an approving nod, hand over his chest. "Not bad. Not bad at all... I hope you know I won't go as easy on you, now, though..."

She waved him over with a smirk. "Bring it. _Sir_." He let out a shout before flying over, swiping and blocking as she swung back, both pacing the room as they dueled, class cheering and whooping. "I'll have ya know that this 'ere is one a' the weirdest things I've ever done!" She grunted as she jumped to avoid his sweeping leg. "An' yer playin' dirty!"

"I'm the teacher!" He shot back, "I'm allowed to play dirty, but _you're_ not!"

She dodged a stab. "That's right fine by me, sir," She replied shortly, "I don't _need_ ta play dirty ta beat you." As he stopped to laugh confidently, she struck his hand and swung his sword in a circle before it went flying into the chalkboard.

Mr. Wolfe gaped at her, disbelief on his, and quite a few of the student's faces.

"I played pirates a lot as a young'un," She explained sheepishly, "We took that mess more serious'n Church..."

He continued to stare a while before finally breaking into laughter that was nearly _manic_. "Excellent. Excellent! You get an 'A' for the day! And you know, you're the first person to duel with me. _You_, madam, have risen up the ranks already." He walked over and picked up his sword, motioning for her to come over, which she did. Mr. Wolfe placed the flat side of the sword on her shoulder, then moved it to the other. "I, Legate Wolfe, dub you as _Centurio_. You can skip two assignments every month, and you can get some candy every friday if you'd like. As long as it's not that chocolate with gold flakes in it, because I, beilieve it or not, _am not made of money_."

She blinked. "Are you sure this's a school, Mr. Wolfe...?"

"_Legate_. _Legate_ Wolfe." He corrected before nodding. "And yes, this is a school... The other classes are much more... school-like. This is creative writing, where we challenge our boundaries and push the limits of how we think! Welcome, young Centurio Bowman!" He looked back over to the back of the class. "Damian, would you be so kind as to raise your hand so our new friend knows where to go?"

An annoyed grunt voiced and a hand raised from the back, and Mr-err, _Legate_ Wolfe gestured over.

"There you go, Bowman."

Shrugging and walking over, trying to resist the urge to ask what the _hell_ that guy was smoking, Farrah made her way to the empty desk and threw her backpack onto the ground next to the desk. Once she plopped into her seat, the man started a lecture.

"_So_, today, we will be discussing stereotypes..."

She glanced around and noticed that there was literally a _ring_ of empty desks where she was. And another thing she noticed... it seemed to be around a guy. The guy she was sitting by... She was pretty sure Legate Wolfe called him Damian.

He didn't appear to be a druggie or particularly disgusting. And what was even more confusing, the guy was _attractive_. People kinda flock around good-looking persons. Short jet-black hair that shined in the light, clean face, defined jaw line, he was even muscular... Farrah wasn't a psychologist, but girls usually _hung_ on guys like him. It was just a fact of life. If a person was attractive, there would always be some people of the opposite gender that gravitated towards them... He looked pretty grumpy, sure, but _still_.

The girl finally shrugged to herself before turning and looking over to pay attention to the (she was having way more fun calling him 'Legate' than she should have) Legate's lecture.

"-People make them. People break them. Stereotypes are how some people define others and themselves. What stereotypes do you identify with? What stereotypes do you apply people to. Are you justified in doing so? These are the questions, people!" The Legate paused to add, "No, seriously. This is your homework for today, write a paper about stereotypes." Groans and complaints rang through the room, and the man chuckled. "Come on, guys, I have to give you grades _sometimes_... Tell you what; since it's a monday, you guys can make it three paragraph at a _minimum_ and _yes_, Marcus, spelling counts. If you do it good, and it makes me think, I'll throw in a couple extra points. Not too bad, right guys?" A couple people grumbled under their breaths, but no one said no. "Right. Anyways, back to the lecture..."

* * *

By second period, Farrah was quick to find the difference between this school and hers. In her old school, she was on top of things in every subject, even math. But in _this_ school, math was... well... It might as well have been Greek. And, as she found, some of it _was_. All these Greek symbols and numbers and denominators and _hemispheres_ and junk on the board. On the bright side, she didn't have to stand up at the front of the class, but on the dark side, she didn't get to sword fight this time...

And, once again, she was stuck sitting next to that one dude, Damian. And he still looked like someone ran over his foot... Someone needed to give that guy a puppy or something...

For a while, Farrah stared at the board, trying to figure out what in the _hell_ to do to solve the opening questions , but after a while she just gave up and put her hand up. The teacher, Ms. Martinez, looked over expectantly. "Yeah, I'm sorry, ma'am," The girl apologized meekly, gesturing to the board. "But... 'the fuck is _that?_"

Snorts and laughs sounded before Ms. Martinez held her hand up for silence, trying not to smile as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "Ms. Bowman... please refrain from using such language in my class..."

"Yes'm, my bad... But fer real, what in sam hel-err, what-what is this mess?" She asked. "This's like a whole 'nother language ta me, ma'am. Like, really... I'm pretty sure there's some Greek letters up'ere er somethin', right?"

The lady nodded as a smile crossed her face. "Yes, it is... You're... not from around here, are you...?"

Farrah gave the woman a unamused look as _every single goddamn pair of eyes turned to look at her_. "Gee, what gave it away...?" She asked dryly, "The accent er the plaid...?"

Ms. Martinez laughed. "It was a little of both..."

"_Ya'll_ are the ones with the accents, ma'am..." She muttered.

"I'm sure." The woman replied with a cheeky grin. "And as for the math thing... Mr. Wayne, would you help our new friend?"

The guy next to her heaved a sigh. "_Must_ I assist the uneducated hillbilly?"

_Well_... there went any positive feelings towards the guy. Farrah scowled. "_Must_ I be assisted by the snobby, rude-ass city slicker?" Once those words escaped her lips, everyone, _everyone_ gasped and gaped at the redneck. Even the teacher went silent as she stared. The girl faltered. "I... _what...?_" She pointed to the boy. "_He_ started it."

"She just said that to Damian _Wayne_."

"Did she really just do that...?"

"_Ooh_, the redneck's in for it now..."

Damian's eyes narrowed. "Do you know who I am...?"

"A self-righteous arse...?"

"I am Damian _Wayne_. _Son_ of Bruce Wayne."

Farrah raised a brow. "And I'm the daughter of Thomas Bowman. What's yer point...?"

A girl who sat some three seats away gasped audibly. "_Bowman_...? Like, a relative of Charles Bowman, the scientist?"

"Yeah, that's the one." She nodded.

Mocking laughter came from the girl's mouth and she scoffed. "That guy's a _nut!_"

A scowl immediately crossed Farrah's face and she stood up abruptly from her seat. "You shut yer yap! He's saner, an' a _hell_ of a lot smarter than any one a' you!"

The same girl who had insulted Charlie stood up as well. "Then why did he lose his funding...? Just face it. He's crazy."

Every inch of her screamed to lash out. Far had never been known for patience when those dear to her were insulted. Yes, she hadn't known Charlie long, but she still felt close to him. She felt like she'd known him a lot longer than the day and a half... And the fact that this _bitch_ was calling him crazy wasn't sitting well with her.

But... she'd promised herself that she'd cause Charlie as little trouble as possible, and getting in a fight on her first day counted as trouble. So, with her hands clenched tightly into fists, she bit back her temper and looked the girl straight in the eye.

"Y'know," She all but growled, "I've met a lotta 'crazy' people in my short life... I've found that they're not really crazy... just ahead a' the curb. An' those _crazy people_, always end up influencin' the world in the best way." She got right up into the girl's face and stared her down. "Dwell on that 'un fer me, would'ja?"

As she stalked back to her seat, it was quiet enough to hear a pin drop. And it stayed quiet as she sat down, clenching and unclenching her fists for a while before finally looking over at Ms. Martinez and asking her meekly, "Could... Could you just come'ere and show me how ta do this stuff...? I promise I won't take up too much a' yer time... I can catch up pretty quick, I jus' need ta know how ta _do_ it."

Ms. Martinez blinked. "Uh... Yes. Yes, I most certainly could do that..." As the woman trotted over, pretty much every head was still turned to Farrah.

"Ya'll got a problem?" The girl finally asked frustratedly. As several heads turned away, she sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "This place sucks..."

* * *

Farrah slammed into the door violently, making it fly open as she stepped out into the open field, despite the cloudy weather and cold wind. A few empty picnic tables stood near where the sidewalk ended, but she walked right past them to an old tree that sat near the edge of the field. Once she got under the tree, she pulled her phone out and dialed a number.

It rang three times before a familiar voice answered. "What's up?"

"I'm sick a' this place, pop!"

"_Oh_ boy..."

"It seems like every single daggon kid in this school can barely even tie their own shoelaces!"

"I had a feeling you'd end up sayin' somethin' like that..."

She threw an arm up in the air, exasperatedly. "It's _true!_ I swear to God, these kids are _so_ dumb! They wanna be spoon-fed the answers when they're _right there_ on the flippin' paper; all they'd have to do is _read_ a lil'! And they can't even do that!" She ranted frustratedly. "They read like God dang five year olds! _Baron_ reads better'an 'em! And he's only just turned four! And they call _me_ the uneducated white trash! I finished the work ten minutes in, and the rest a' the lot took the whole daggon, God-forsaken class! And they treat the teachers like _shit_. No respect fer their elders at all! Every last one a' them needs a helluva whoopin'! _And it's only halfway over!_"

"It's always the worst that make the first impression, Far, you know that..." Her father reminded her patiently. "I swear, your temper's as bad as your mom's... Calm down," She could _almost_ she him lift his hands in a calming motion, "_Inhale_..."

"I don't _wanna_ calm down!" She barked. "I wanna whip those pale-ass suckers behinds and show 'em the discipline they damn-well need! Teach those heifers one for!"

"_Farrah_. Do ya really wanna be like this when Baron talks to you?" She could almost _hear_ his stern look. "Calm down. Count to ten. Steady breaths. Hit somethin' if you gotta, _but not a person_."

The girl let out a snarl as she punched the tree as hard as she could, making it tremble and something fall out of the tree and onto her head. Grimacing to herself, she glanced down, only to have her eyebrows shoot into her hair as her anger fizzled into curiosity. A cell phone...? Farrah looked up into the tree, but didn't see anything. She kind of wanted to look closer, but her dad was waiting on the other line, so she just picked the phone up and looked at it. It was _nice_... And it had a _SwordWalkers_ case. Awesome... She'd loved that game...

While looking up into the tree's branches, she put her cell back to her ear. "Awlright... punched the tree... and a phone with an awesome case fell out onto my head."

"Cool, free phone!" The man chuckled. "Anyway... still mad?"

She shrugged even though she knew he couldn't see. "Uh... not really... little confused, but I feel better."

"And the hand's not tore up too bad, is it?"

"No," She answered, turning her hand to look at her knuckles and sighed. "A little scraped up, but she still works."

"Good." He replied. "Now... you wanna talk to the lil' man? He heard me say your name, and he really wants ta talk with you."

A smile crossed her face. "Yeah... Lemme talk to 'im. I'll be good... No cursin' er nothin'." She heard some mumbling on the other line before a voice came through.

"Far?"

Her smile widened. "Hey there, Barry."

The little boy squealed with delight. "Far! Far! Where... are you? Miss you..."

"I miss you, too, lil' bud," She assured him. "An' I'm sorry... But we're, uh... in a bit of a sticky situation."

"Oh... Then... why not just take a baff?"

A quiet laugh escaped her lips. "That's not quite what I meant, there, baby."

"Oh... whoops... What-what did mean, den?"

"_Then_, baby." She corrected before answering, "An' it's... complicated."

"Grown-up stuff?"

"Yeah... grown-up stuff." She smiled. "I don't entirely understand it myself, ta be honest... Sorry..."

"S'okay." Baron told her. "Are you... coming back ho-home?"

She exhaled. "Hope so..."

"Mm-kay... Daddy wants on... Love you."

"I love ya, too, Baron. Ya stay out of trouble, 'kay, kid? An' eat your veggies, or _I_ will!"

"_Noo!~_" He squealed, voice getting fainter and fainter as he (presumably) ran away. "Their _miiine!_"

Her father's voice came back. "Did you tell that boy you'd eat his food again...?"

Farrah laughed. "Yeah... he's still a possessive eater, then?"

"Do ya _really_ need to ask? Was that not enough proof for ya...?"

"Don't be a butt _all_ yer life." She grinned as the man scoffed.

"What about _you?_ Yer as bad as me, if not, _worse!_"

"Pssh... Only 'cause I'm related to you!" She retorted playfully, "And anyways, dad... I should probably go..."

"Aw, _what?_" He complained with a groan.

"I called ya durin' school hours," She reminded him with an equally disappointed sigh. "I'm prob'ly not s'possed to be on the phone, even if it is lunch..."

"Aww..." Her father whined, "But I wanted ta _talk_ to you..."

"I know, I'm sorry... I jus'... Jus' had to talk to _someone_, or I'd lose my mind." She mumbled. "This place is so... _different_. I don't belong here, an' all the kids here know it. Wanted to talk to someone who wouldn't call me a stupid redneck, y'know...?"

She could almost _hear_ the man frown. "I know, sweet pea... I'm sorry you have to deal with that. I _would_ tell you to knock their blocks off, but I don't wanna 'cause Charles too much trouble, and I'm pretty sure _you_ don't, either."

"I don't." She confirmed.

"Right. Exactly... Just keep yer chin up, and stand up fer yourself. _Without_ your fists." He added. "You _can_ stick up fer you an' other people with words. Hard to believe, I know..."

Farrah rolled her eyes as her lips twitched up. "Right... so, as you were sayin'...?"

"Oh, yeah, uh..." He paused a moment to remember what he had been saying. "Oh yeah! So, don't let 'em keep ya down, and the good 'uns'll notice you. You're a good kid; smart, pretty... a little goofy, bit of a smart-ass at times and _maybe_ a little crazy, but good."

She snorted. "Oh, is that _it_...? _Just_ goofy, a smart-ass, and crazy?"

"_Well_, if you wanna get me started-"

"No, no, it's fine!" She cut him off, "I actually kinda like havin' a _little_ self-esteem. But seriously, I've gotta go..."

"Awlright, fine... Call me once school's over, ya hear?"

"I hear... Bye, pop, love you. Promise I'll try to stay outta fights, an' tell mom I said hi."

"Good, good, I will." He praised her, "Bye, baby, I love ya, too." As she hung up and slipped her phone back in her pocket, a branch cracked above her head.

She immediately looked up, poised to leap out of the way incase something fell, because cracking noises in _trees_ were never good... But nothing else happened. It got all too quiet, as she squinted into the branches.

After a few minutes, she shook it off as being crazy and looked at the phone that had fallen on her head. It _was_ a nice phone... She could sell it... Start getting money saved up so she could get another guitar, since she'd had to sell her old one to help her dad make a mortgage payment...

"_Nah_," She sighed after a few minutes. She looked back up into the tree, squinting to try and see if someone was up there because she _swore_ she could feel eyes on her. Finally, she just pulled her arm back and tossed it back into the tree, immediately turning away and walking towards the cafeteria.

A thought hit her, and she looked back. _The phone didn't fall back onto the ground_. Either she'd gotten lucky and it got caught between some twigs, a person was up there, or the squirrels took it as a sacrifice to their blood gods.

The girl snorted and shook her head to herself. "Pop is right, I _am_ losin' it..."

Farrah had never noticed the blue eyes watching her in between the branches and fading leaves...

* * *

Once again, Farrah had gotten lost and was late to her final class. But really, could anyone blame her? The place was huge! It was ridiculous! And yet, despite it's size, she wound up sitting next to that one Damian kid in every class but two, so far!

Rapping against the wood door a few times and doing her best not to get frustrated with her whole situation, her unamused look quickly turned confused as a young woman with a bright green bowler hat and paint on her face with a bright red cape opened the door. _Why was everyone in Gotham bat-shit insane?!_

"Mrs... Roberts...?" She ventured slowly. When the woman nodded, Farrah held up her schedule. "This'ere's the art class, right...?" When Mrs. Roberts nodded again, the girl let out a sigh of relief. At least she wasn't at the wrong class again... "I'm the new kid."

The strange woman snatched the schedule out of poor, confused Far's hands and looked it over before throwing her arms in the air. "Ah-_ha!_ I found the missing new student!" The woman cheered excitedly as she led Farrah in. "Huzzah!"

"Yeah, huzzah..." The girl cheered as well half-heartedly, "Woopty-frickin' doo..."

"You came at the perfect time, darling!" The woman informed her with a big grin. "We were just about to discuss our next project! Welcome to Gotham High, by the way... Now, let me see where I can put you..."

"There's an empty easel by Damian, Robby." A student called out.

Finally at her limit, Farrah threw her arms up exasperatedly. She didn't care about what people thought of her anymore, she was tired of keeping her mouth shut. "He's pretty jerky, but is this Damian dude _that_ much of a douche, or is it _you_ people?! I mean, I don't care if'n I sit by him or not, but almost _every. Single. Class!_"

A boy with spiked-up, blonde hair spoke up. "That's Damian _Wayne_." He explained, "As in, the son of Bruce Wayne."

"So what?!" She asked, "Why in _sam hell_ do I care what his last name is er isn't?!"

The same boy raised a brow and smiled. "You're... not from around here, are you...?"

Farrah huffed and made her way over to the empty easel, and snapping her fingers as she put her pointer finger in the air. "That's another thing! I've heard that sentence _twenty-four times_, today! That _exact sentence_. It's pretty daggon obvious I'm not from this God-Forsaken place, do ya _really_ need to ask?! Is the accent and the fact that _this is my first day_ not obvious enough?!" She threw her bag down roughly and sat down with canteen in hand. The only reason she wasn't banging her head against the easel was because she was fixing to get another cup of coffee, pointedly ignoring the odd look Damian was giving her.

Mrs. Roberts giggled. "Long first day...?"

"You have _no_ idea!" She threw back as she poured the sweet liquid into the cup. "This place's so huge it's _stupid_." She pointed at Damian. "An' _he's_ the only person I've met all day 'cause I've had ta sit by him in pretty much _every class_." When it was filled to her satisfaction, she took a long drink, despite the fact that it was scorching hot. "An' I got around _two hours_ of sleep."

The boy with the spiked blonde hair winced and laughed. "Dude... that's pretty awful..."

"Oh, you wanna talk about awful?" She scoffed and took another swig. "I've gotten lost tryin' to find every class except my first one. _Every_. _Class_. And don't get me started on some a' the _students_, man..."

"Oh, I already know where this one's headed," The boy chuckled. "Either complete idiots or complete jerks, right?"

"You got it," She replied dryly. "You forgot all the mute people, though..."

Mrs. Roberts cocked her head to the side. "Mute people...?"

"Yup, mute people," She confirmed. "I tried talkin' to some guys I sat next to, and they all jus' looked at me. Mute. Or mentally challenged."

The blonde guy gave her a cheeky grin. "They were probably blinded by the Southern belle's beauty."

Farrah gave a rather unladylike snort. "Oh yeah... that was so daggon funny, I _forgot to laugh_. Good joke, bo'. Good joke..."

"Who said I was kidding...?"

She exhaled heavily and cracked the knuckles in her hand. "Not today, bo'. Don't patronize me or I'll break yer thumb..."

He laughed. "My name's not bo', by the way... It's William."

"Why don't anyone speak _english_ here," She muttered under her breath before giving the guy, William, a thumbs up. "'Kay cool..."

Mrs. Roberts giggled and clapped her hands together. "Alright, guys, alright... I know we have a new student and that it's very exciting, but lets start talking about our project! I'm really excited about it, it's gonna be a good one. Woo!"

"Woo!" Farrah cheered back, though less enthusiastic.

The caped woman blinked, surprised to hear someone respond, and beamed at the girl. "I think you're going to be my new favorite."

William made a distressed noise. "Mrs. Robby, I thought _I_ was your favorite!"

Farrah took another sip before raising her cup into the air. "You got replaced, Willy. Deal with it."

Snickers and short laughs filled the room before Mrs. Roberts held up her hands for silence. "_Anyways!_ I want you guys to do... whatever you want, in whatever medium you want to do it in... But! I want it to mean something to you. It can be symbolic, and can be something you really like to do, or maybe what you want, or _wanted_ to be. Maybe you wanted to be a firefighter on Mars when you were a kid; you could paint that. Maybe you want to do something in memory of someone you lost; you could draw that. It just has to be meaningful to you. And! It has to be good. I want it to be the best thing you've ever done!" A few groans of complaint voiced, and the woman rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on, guys... You have around a month to do it."

Farrah, who had been drinking her coffee, choked. "Say _what?!_" She wheezed as she tried not to drown. "_Why?_"

"So you have time to think." The woman explained, "And things change. Two week in, you might decide you want to do something else."

She blinked and gave the teacher a look and finally shrugging. "Alright, alright... _Yer_ the teacher." She said before muttering under her breath, "This place is weird..."

"Alright, guys," Mrs. Roberts said, clapping her hands together. "Let's get to work!"

Turning to look at the empty paper on the easel, Far poured some more coffee into her cup while musing on what to do, giving the paper her full attention while sipping her drink. After minute or two of silence, she sighed into her cup. "_Please_ stop starin' at me, Wayne."

Said boy scoffed as a large amount of people turned their attention to them. "Tt, you _wish_ I was staring at you, Bowman."

"Then I _guess_ my wish came true, 'cause that's jus' what yer doin'." She retorted without looking over. "I know yer lookin' at me 'cause I can _feel_ yer eyes on me. An' I would appreciate it if you would stop... Or at least _say_ somethin' instead a' stare, city slicker."

"Oh, so you can _feel staring_...?" He asked dryly.

She nodded. "Yup. Comes in handy when yer huntin'... If a deer spots ya, it'll stare a while before takin' off. If you can feel it before it takes off, sometimes you can spot _it_, 'fore it runs fer the hills. An' I jus' got more attuned to feelin' stares, it's kinda weird... An' speakin' a' starin'..." She stood up and glared over her paper. "Can I _help_ you people...?" She heard a few muttered apologies and grunts, sitting down when everyone else turned to their own easel, mumbling under her breath, "_Nosy-ass yankees_..."

Damian snickered, and she glanced over.

"Did you hear that...?" When he nodded, she winced. "_Whoops_..."

* * *

Art class actually wasn't that bad... Mrs. Roberts played some good music, and the people there weren't _nearly_ as annoying or stupid... She could actually talk to some of the students there without getting made fun of... But it didn't stop her from sprinting out of the room when the dismissal bell rang without a single glance back.

She was the first out of the room, and one of the first to crash through the back doors where parents were waiting in their cars to pick up the kids. Seeing that Charlie wasn't there yet, she groaned and trudged over to the edge of the sidewalk to wait.

There was a car she was standing near, a nice, sleek, expensive-looking black car... And a guy that looked like a butler was standing in front of the passenger seat with his hands folded behind his back.

He had a trimmed mustache and balding black hair, with, _get this_, fancy white gloves. To put it simply, he was pretty much the dictionary definition of _classy_.

Farrah heaved an exhausted sigh to herself as she waited for her uncle to show up, setting the large canteen by her feet before looking up at the sky. It was still a dark, dreary-ass day... And it really didn't get her hopes up. She briefly wondered if she could get Charlie to buy her a guitar.

Her fingers twitched on their own accord at the thought of their beloved instrument, until she gave in and let herself air guitar. Just because she didn't have her guitar with her anymore, didn't mean she had to get rusty...

The man who stood near her glanced over and watched in fascination as she strummed and plucked at imaginary strings, tapping her foot and mouthing lyrics under her breath.

"Pardon me, madam, but I am curious... do you play an instrument?" He asked. _He had a british accent_... Somehow, that didn't surprise her...

"Yep," She replied as more and more students spilled out of the building, "Guitar... Had to sell 'er off a bit ago... never thought I could miss an inanimate object so much, but _daggon_... Reckon people never quite appreciate what they got 'till they gotta pawn it off."

"Oh dear... most unfortunate, madam." The edges of his lips twitched down. "If you do not mind my asking... Why did you do so...?"

"Pawn off my guitar?" When the man nodded, she shrugged. "Had ta help my pa' pay fer mortgage. I'd rather have a home fer me an' my kin than a stinkin' guitar, y'know...?"

"Yes, I do understand... Most unfortunate, my dear. My sincerest apologies."

She shrugged again. "Eh, what'cha gonna do...? Life sucks, either way. Either you spend yer whole life crying about it, or you get over it... Phone's fall outta trees, here, maybe I'll get lucky an' a guitar will, too."

The man raised an eyebrow. "_Pardon_, madam...?"

"You didn't know that...?" She joked, "Just today, a phone fell out of a tree an' onto my noggin. Had a cool case an' everything... I'm startin' ta regret havin' thrown it back..."

His face turned bewildered, and as he started to ask something, a car horn blared and Charlie's voice screamed out, making everyone, including Farrah and the butler look over. He had parked the car some ten meters away.

"Farrah!" The man jumped out of the parked car, all smiles and red in the face as he held his hands out. "Stay-stay there! I-I have a surprise for you-you're going to _love_ this!"

Said girl shared a look with the butler as the lanky man scrambled for the trunk and did something before leaping out of the way.

"I appreciate the thought," She called back with a tired smile, "But blowing up the school would be illegal!"

"Not-not that!" He yelled before leaping away like his car was on fire.

Farrah raised a brow. Okay, so... maybe the man was a _little_ on the nutty side, but who was she to talk...

At least, that was what she thought until two dogs jumped out into view. Two very _familiar dogs_.

"Nuh uh..." She froze in disbelief, "No way, bo'. _Naw.._."

At the sound of her voice, the smaller of the two dogs, the blonde colored one with gray eyes and black markings on his face, perked his ears up and looked over. His white-tipped tail twitched to life, gradually wagging more and more until it was sweeping in a circle.

The dog let out a loud bark that turned heads before sprinting over.

"No, no, no, don't-!" She yelped, managing to take a step back before the dog leaped up and slammed into her chest, effectively knocking her back onto her ass. She let out an _oof!_ as the wind got knocked out of her.

The dog grunted and growled and yipped and whined at her as it licked her face furiously, tail whipping to and fro as the girl beamed and wrapped her arms around its neck.

"Okay, okay!" She laughed, running her fingers through his fur as he whined and wiggled in her lap. "I missed you, too, Thor!

A lower bark boomed in her face as the other, huge white dog lightly headbutted her. It had the face of a Great Dane, with a pink nose and milky gray splotching on its face, blue eyes bright as it licked the top of Farrah's head.

"I didn't forget ya, Ari!" She grinned as she rubbed the top of the huge dog's head. "I missed you, too..."

Farrah didn't even care that people were giving her looks... Because right then, as Thor whined and squirmed in her lap, as Ari nuzzled the top of her head... She felt good. Like she would be able to survive the cruel harshness of Gotham... _Hell_, even _thrive_...

Charlie walked over, grinning wider than she had ever seen him, cheeks rosy as he chuckled. "I-I take it that you like my surprise...?"

"_Like it?!_" She stood up despite Thor's groan and pulled the man into a hug, lifting him up off the ground and spinning him around despite his protests. "This is-this is the best damn thing to happen to me since movin' here!" As she set the tall man down, a thought hit her and she frowned. "But, uh... Thor an' Ari are _outside_ dogs... And yer livin' in an apartment..." She trailed off.

"We have quite a while to-to train them," He replied breathlessly, "And _wow_, you are _far_ stronger than I thought..."

"Charlie, I wrestle with _those_," She grinned as she pointed to the two dogs, particularly Ari, who reached the girl's belly button at the shoulder. "Do ya really think I could manage _that_ an' still be a fragile lil' flower...?"

He blinked. "I... I suppose you have a good point." He patted her shoulder. "Now, let's go back home. We have a l-long day ahead of us... And by we, I mean _you_. I-I'm afraid I don't do well with dogs, so I'm taking Griffon and locking us in my room..."

Her shoulders drooped as she followed him back to his car, dogs at her heel. "Aw, _what_...?" She complained, "They won't hurt you..." She faltered as a thought hit her. "Well... _Thor_ might, but he's still just a puppy, he don't know any better!"

"And _that_, is exactly why I-I'm not helping... Sorry, Farrah," He told her with a small smile, "They-they're not my dogs, they're _yours_."

She grunted and pouted to herself before she remembered something. "Oh yeah!" She turned and gave a small wave to the butler guy, "See ya, sir! Thanks fer chattin'!" Before trotting after Charlie.

A certain Damian Wayne, who had been standing next to the butler a lot longer than Farrah had realized, raised a brow. "A freak has come to our town, Alfred..."

Said man simply hummed and opened the passenger door. "If I may, young sir, I found the girl to be quite decent company..."

Damian snorted. "Just drive the car, Pennyworth..."

* * *

**Author's note~**

**AND SO IT BEGINS... Up next, our redneck discovers just how bad the crime is in Gotham, and gets some souvenirs to prove it... And that's all I'm going to say ;)**

**Let me take a moment to thank all the people who've taken the time to read my strange little tale. I love you guiz. Fo' cereal.**

**Tell me if I made any mistakes in here. Since I have to make some on purpose, it's pretty easy to miss the ones that aren't supposed to be there. And as always, I hope my goofy little tale made you smile :) Thanks for putting up with me.  
**

**ʕ´ᴥ`ʔ Bear with me, guys!  
**

**, _Blue_**


	4. Chapter 4

Farrah awoke to Thor's furious barking and groaned. "Shut _up_, ya daggon mutt! I'm fuckin' _tired!_ I've had a long-ass night, because of _you_, by the way, an' I wanna sleep!"

The dog turned to look at her, and instead of quieting he leaped onto the bed, barking and whining and grunting. The poor, tired girl opened on eye to glare at the hysterical dog, and in the young dog's mind, that meant that she would do what he wanted.

Thor grabbed her tank-top with his teeth and dragged her out of bed towards the door until she finally threw her arms up in defeat and picked herself up off of the ground, cursing loudly. "_God fuckin' damnit_, fine!" She growled, grabbing her signature red plaid jacket and pulling it on as he pulled her to the doorway and through the halls. "I'm _going!_ Yer bladder better be up ta the rim, or _ooooh,_ you don't even wanna _know!_!"

He sprinted to the front door and jumped at it, howling at the top of his lungs. Farrah groaned and opened the door, and Thor shot off down the flight of stairs so fast that if she had blinked, she would have missed him.

Far, snarling and cursing as she did so, sprinted after him with Ari at her heels, jumping down the rest of the stairs once she reached the middle. It didn't take her too long to catch up to the sprinting hound, but he just kept _running_. Never stopping, turning several corners before reaching a dimly lit alley and skidding to a stop, fur standing on end and growling before stalking in despite Farrah's calls for him to, and, I quote, '_haul ass back before ya get yer ass killed!'_ A light rain pattered against the sidewalk.

Now, Farrah wasn't stupid... she knew that going into dark alleys at night was almost _asking_ to be mugged... But that was _her_ dog... more than that, he was her friend... _her_ responsibility. Her mess to clean up after...

So, muttering a prayer under her breath, she jogged into the darkness.

Once her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she was quick to notice what was going on, and she froze.

A girl, gagged, with the front of her shirt completely ripped through was being pushed against a wall by a man.

It felt like her heart stopped beating, as her mind went a mile a minute, trying to decide what to do. She was just a kid... what could she do...? Call the cops...? It would be too late by then!

The girl choked a sob against the gag, and Farrah immediately reached a decision.

With a running start, the teen leaned forward and slammed into the offending man with her shoulder, sending him flying a yard or two away and, while Thor and Ari jumped on him with vicious snarls. As they ripped into the man, she kneeled down to the girl.

"Don't worry, darlin'," She said between light pants, after calling Thor and Ari off of the man and firmly telling them to _stay_, "I got ya. Did he hurt ya?" The girl sobbed and sniffled, but didn't answer, and Far remembered the gag. "Oh! Oh, oh right, sorry..." She untied the gag from the back, and briefly noted that it had probably been made from her torn shirt before asking again, "Are you alright, did he hurt ya?"

The poor girl was shaking like a leaf, and sobbing so much she could barely utter a syllable. Far did her best to calm her down, and was so into helping the girl that she didn't notice when her dogs began whining and yipping for her attention.

The girl, who had _just_ been starting to calm down, if just a bit, suddenly began freaking out again before managing to point behind her.

Just as Farrah started to turn, a heavy weight hit her directly in her right eye and threw her to the side. Searing hot, white pain filtered her vision, and as she was picking herself up, she got lifted up by the neck and slammed into the side of a brick building.

"_Bitch!_ Mind your own goddamn business!" A rough, scratchy voice snarled into her face. His breath reeked of alcohol. The man faltered as he looked closer. "On second thought... Now I can get two for one..."

She grabbed his hand to keep him from pulling away. "No, but you _can_ get yer ass kicked!" She bit out before lashing out and kneeing him right in the side.

It was enough to get him to let her go, and as he kneeled over in pain, she took a few long steps to gain momentum before kicking him in the chest like one would a football. She kept kicking him and kicking him until he went still...

"Next time," The girl panted, limbs trembling with adrenaline, "_Stay_ down... Make it easier on both a' us..."

_She shouldn't have turned her back on him_. She let her guard down, as she walked back to the trembling girl and put her plaid jacket over the girl's bare shoulders in an attempt to shield her better from the elements. "It'll be awlright, sugar." She told the girl gently.

The girl suddenly paled, and rasped something that Farrah couldn't quite make out.

"I'm sorry," She apologized as she leaned a bit closer, straining her ears to hear. "I didn't hear ya... what'd you say...?"

"B-be-behind you!"

But it was a little too late. A heavy boot stomped on her back, and she grunted with pain as she braced her arm on the wall to keep from falling on the already traumatized girl.

The man ripped Farrah away, despite the horrified girl's attempt to keep hold on her attempted savior, and threw her across the alley and into a trash bin like she was a baseball. And just as she moved to get up, he began kicking her side with his _heavy_-ass boots.

The southern girl fought back... She punched and she kicked, snarled and spat, but it wasn't enough... The guy, whoever he was, was _big_. And she was disoriented, and _God_, her ears were ringing.

"You're more trouble than you're _worth!_" He snarled as he lifted her by the neck and slammed her to a brick wall. "I think I'll just slit your goddamn throat and rape your fucking corpse!" He slammed a closed fist to the side of her head and mouth; splitting her lip and sending ruby blood down her chin as she saw stars.

"Not if I kill you first, ya bastard," She choked out, head spinning as she spat blood onto his face, "You dirty, good-fer-nothin' _scum _- you sick _fuck!_"

He growled as he pulled out a knife, placing it against her neck. "I don't know what your crazy-ass parents told you, kid, but you can't _fight_ grown ups! Grown ups are _bigger!_" As he said that, he punched her stomach and forced her to stay up straight and look him in the eye. "Grown ups are _stronger! Meaner!_" He gave a rotted smile. "Any last words...?"

She bit back a noise of pain. "_Yeah_," She ground out, "I'm gonna _kick_. _Your_. _As-ack!_" She choked as he tightened his grip on her neck.

As he smirked at her pain, a plan formed in her slightly oxygen-deprived mind. A _stupid_ plan, yes, but it was her only option. It would hurt her, yes, but it would also hurt the man... hopefully, enough to get him to drop her. If not, then, well... At least she was gonna go down, fighting.

Farrah muttered a small prayer under her breath before slamming her head against his with a battle cry.

The man jerked back, but didn't give... In fact, it only pissed him off more... which would have been fine, really, if it weren't for the fact that he had a _knife to her throat_.

"_What did I just say?!_" He snarled, "You're half my goddamn size-you're just digging yourself a deep mother fuckin' hole! You. Can't. _Play_. With. Grown ups."

"_Then pick on someone your own size._"

The redneck saw something from the corner of her eye fly by and slice the back of the man's head before hitting the wall and dropping to the floor. Next thing she knew, a flash of red went by and she was on the ground, gasping for breath and thanking every god she knew of as black combat boots went into her line of sight.

"Thanks for the assist," A rough, growly yet kind voice told her as hands gently pulled her to her feet, "But you probably should have called the police, instead,"

Farrah bit back a whimper as she stretched out her back. "With all due respect, sir... If I'da done that, the girl would 'a done been raped and killed in this 'ere alley by the time the cops came. An' if'n I'd waited fer _you_, she might not've been dead, but she would'a been traumatized fer life, and-" She looked up, only to have her jaw drop. "_Holy shit_... You... Yer the goddamn _Batman..._ Batman an' Robin are actually a _thing!_ Yer _Batman!_"

He was a huge, intimidating and muscular man with a square jaw. And, well... he was _Batman_. He had the suit, cape and utility belt, and everything!

The masked man gave a grim smile. "Yes... yes I am. And _you_, are a very brave girl."

The soaked girl shrugged before looking over at the very anxious, very _vocal_ dogs of her and whistled for them. They ran over, Thor whining and nipping at her as he licked her hands, and Ari, _bless her_, was leaning against Farrah's legs and giving the girl some very welcome support.

"I reckon so," She said agreed half-heartedly as she patted the two dogs. "Wish I hadn't trained these so damn well, though... They would'a been a hell of a help..."

Batman gave a wry smile. "I would think so... Though, it's probably a good thing they listen so well. They might get into trouble, otherwise..."

Farrah gave another shrug and walked over to the girl who was still huddled up against the wall, clutching Farrah's jacket around herself like a security blanket. "Hey, darlin'," She greeted gently, trying to ignore the man's screams of pain off to the side, "You gonna be okay...?"

The girl managed a nod, though still whimpering as she trembled against the wall. She couldn't have been much older than Farrah...

"Let's get you home, awlright?" Far told her, holding her hand out to help the girl up. The girl took her hand, albeit a bit cautiously, and let herself be pulled to her feet before suddenly pulling the battered and bruised redneck into a hug. Farrah froze up for a minute before hugging her back, asking as she pulled away, "Can you walk...?"

"I-I don't think so," The girl answered quietly, "The-the man... hurt my leg... I think it might be broken..."

The thought never occurred to Farrah, to pass on the job of helping the girl to Batman, the better equipped, the man who was more knowledgeable of the city, who was stronger and not plagued with fatigue or exhaustion. So, she simply nodded. "No worries, she'll be 'right. I guess... I reckon I could jus' carry you...'

"Or," The cowled man cut in, "_I_ could."

The girl faltered. "Oh yeah... good point, bo'." She let Batman take the girl before glancing back over to Robin and the man at the man's particularly loud scream of pain. "Oh, an', uh... I'm pretty sure that guy's had enough... He's gonna _die_ soon at this rate... Not that I _care_, er anythin', but... if'n I recall right, _you_ do."

He gave a curt nod and looked over at Robin, who was beating the man's face in. "Robin. He's had enough." A curse came from the boy's mouth, but he obeyed and jumped off before stalking over, not even winded. Once Batman was sure that Robin wouldn't kill the almost-rapist/murderer, he glanced over at Farrah before telling him, "Do me a favor and take the girl back home. I'll catch up."

"Hey, now, I can git home by myself, thank you very much! I know _exactly_ how ta get home!"

The boy wonder raised a brow as he asked tauntingly, "Oh, do you...? How, then?"

The redneck blinked as she limped over to where the alley opened up to the road, trying not to put all her weight on Ari as she looked around. "Oh, that's, uh... that's _easy_... Jus'... take-take a turn over at that one road, and keep goin' fer a bit before... doin' other stuff."

Robin snorted. "_Which_ road...?"

Farrah's face turned a bit sheepish as she tried to come up with an answer. "Oh, _y'know_... _that_ one. The one with the asphalt, an'-an' the buildings an' uh..."

Batman smiled. "It's okay, if you don't know... Let us help you. Robin will take you back home... Do you know the address of your home?"

"Er... yeah, it's... in my wallet," She answered sheepishly as she pulled out her wallet and pulled the slip of paper out, handing it the masked man. He looked at it for a few seconds before nodding and handing it to his sidekick.

"Yes, he knows where it is. He can take you..." Batman assured her, "No problem."

The boy wonder heaved a sigh, like he would much rather be doing something else, but nodded. "I _suppose_ I could."

Far made a face but nodded. "Fine..." She faltered and motioned for them to hold up as she walked back to the end of the alley and picked something up, slipping it into her pocket and kicking the groaning man before limping back. "Awlright, I'm set."

They didn't question her actions, _thankfully_, and the four (or six, if you want to count the dogs) went their separate ways.

Admittedly, Farrah wasn't going very fast. She limped, and if she pushed herself to go too fast, her sides and back screamed at her until she quit. Stifling whimpers and grunts of pain as she followed the one and only boy wonder, she bit back a grimace. She _might_'ve been okay if she had a proper crutch, rather than using her dog to help herself walk...

And Robin seemed to think the same, as he stopped and turned to the girl with a fed-up sigh. "For Christ's sake, stop using the dog as a crutch and _lean_ on me, would you?! At least then we wouldn't be going at a snail's pace!"

She kind of wanted to argue or retort, but she wasn't really in the position to, seeing as he helped her and all... "Fine, fine..." She muttered as she limped over and bit back a wince as he pulled her arm over his shoulder. "Thanks, I reckon..."

He grunted in response as they walked on. Turns out, the guy had been right. She didn't have to worry about crushing her faithful mutt, now; she just had to focus on walking without wincing or shivering because _damn_, she was really starting to feel the chill of the rain...

The girl decided to try to keep her mind off of the hurt and chill by making small talk. "So... Robin, the boy wonder... That's pretty cool." She remarked. "Where I come from, we always thought that you superhero fellers were jus' some government propaganda ta get people ta help others... but I guess the fact that yer here kinda disproves that..."

He glanced over as she continued to talk, mostly to herself. "Yer around my age, too," She mused. "I never would a' thought someone around my age would be out an' about, fightin' crime fer real... But even then, you supposedly started this mess when you were around... nine-ish...?"

"Ten." The boy wonder corrected shortly.

"Still pretty damn young." She shrugged, covering a yelp with a cough as she slipped and strained her bruising side. "Prob'ly had some pretty close calls with death, yeah...?" She tried to smile, but she was sure that it came out as a grimace. "I've had some pretty close calls, myself... Like just now, fer instance." She made a face. "Man, that was a _dumb_ thing a' me to do... I'm usually smarter'n that: walking into a dark alley with suspicious noises bein' made in it an' all... I still could'a left. I had the chance... but I didn't..." She hummed. "I... I don't regret it, though. Maybe I should..."

"Regret saving a girl from being raped?" He asked critically.

She blinked as she went over what she said in her head, only to slap her palm to her forehead. "Wait, naw, what I mean is... I regret havin' let Thor out in the first place... _an'_ havin' ta move here. I regret havin' to have saved that girl _at all_... People should already know not ta rape little girls, or to _anyone_, fer that matter... People should _know_ better. But they don't... I shouldn't have had to help her at all, 'cause it shouldn't a' happened, you get me...?"

The boy nodded without saying anything, and Farrah raised a brow. "Don't talk much, do ya...?" He shrugged, and she nodded. "Tha's cool, bo', I can dig it... Not gonna lie, I usually don't talk this much, but I hurt in a whole _shit load_ a' places, an' I'm tryin' not ta think about it."

They walked on, with Farrah chatting on aimlessly, talking more to herself than the boy wonder as she let a hand dangle to pet her dogs.

She barely paid any attention to where she was going, really... She was too busy trying to keep her eyes open, as exhaustion creeped over her. She was barely fazed when Robin finally stopped. It wasn't until he moved to pick her up did she jump up with a yelp.

"'_Ey!_ What in sam hell are you doin'?!"

The guy raised a brow as he spoke like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I was going to carry you..."

"_No._" She said shortly with a huff, trying to stand up straight only to wince and slouch back over. "I'm _fine_. I don' need ta be carried, bo', _I got this._"

"Do not be difficult," He sighed as he motioned for her to come over. "You can barely walk... how do you expect to climb up three flights of stairs?"

"Very carefully." She answered shortly as she limped over to the flight of steps, pointedly walking around the boy wonder as she did so. She hopped up the first three steps before hunching over and putting her weight on the handrail. "_Ow_..."

She could practically _hear_ the smirk from the guy behind her. "Will you stop being difficult, now...?"

"Never," She shot back, "I'm all _about_ bein' difficult!" She faltered as she took in the flight of stairs and was suddenly reminded of the fact that there would be _two more_ waiting for her... "But, I'm also all about bein' lazy," She finally sighed, lifting her arms up with a wince. "You win..."

He tutted and smirked triumphantly at her before swooping her up suddenly into his arms and running up the stairs almost as fast as her dogs could. And _that_ is fast.

"Whoo," She breathed, flashing her dimpled grin to him. "Damn, yer fitter'n a daggon fiddle... Though, I reckon ya _have_ ta be, kickin' the bad guys asses an' whatnot." He didn't respond, and she rolled her eyes. "Don't talk much, do ya...? You don't smile a lot, either..."

He pointedly ignored her as he ran up another flight of steps and went over to her door. He just opened the door and _waltzed right in_, like it was his own place.

Before he could walk on the carpet, she lightly tugged his cape. "Hey, wipe your feet," She muttered. He raised a mask brow, but wiped his feet on the floor matt before walking through her apartment. She briefly noted that his footsteps were silent. Like, _completely_, no noise at fucking all. That was pretty cool...

"Awlright," She mumbled, "I'm soaked, bo'... Jus'... take me to my room er somethin', I dunno... second door on the left." He gave a quiet grunt, turning to the door and walking in, gently setting her down onto her feet. Despite that, she still hissed in pain as she lightly pushed his shoulder. "Easy, man, _easy_... _Day-um_."

He _might have_ said sorry, but she wasn't really focusing that much on it, as she pulled her soaked shirt over her head without a second thought and limped over to the mirror, not even glancing back as she told his shortly, "Flip the light switch."

Farrah immediately winced as the light turned on and she caught sight of herself. Dark purple bruises mottled her torso and shoulders, and a red hand print was seen against the tanned skin on her neck. When she saw herself, quite frankly, she was surprised she could see at _all_ out of her left eye.

"Oh, yeah..." She muttered, "I'm definitely not seein' _jack_ out a' this, tomorra'..." Looking back at Robin as she grabbed a shirt that had been crumpled on the carpet and slipping it on, she rubbed her neck. "So, uh... Do you want some coffee er somethin'...?"

He started to shake his head, only to change his mind halfway through and give a short nod.

The girl blinked. She hadn't expected him to say yes... she had asked more out of courtesy than anything, but shrugged and nodded. "Awlright, I can do coffee..." She breathed as she walked out the door, using the wall to help support her as she made her way to the kitchen.

She put some water into the rather large, complicated coffee maker and threw some scoops of ground coffee into the little filter doodad (five-she didn't like weak coffee), shut it, and flipped it on. Once the pot started warming up, the full realization of what had just happened finally hit her. She had almost gotten raped... She'd almost _died_. Yeah, Batman and Robin had swooped in and saved her, but what if they hadn't _been there_ in time...? She slid down the wall and sat on the ground, Thor squirming his way into her lap and Ari sitting next to her as she let her head fall back against the wall behind her with a heavy sigh.

Robin looked over and raised a brow at the visibly drained girl. "Are you... alright...?" He asked, uncertainty lacing his voice. She _kind of_ wanted to tease him about it... the guy just struck her as the kind of person that was always so _sure_ of themselves and the situation, but... she didn't know... She just wasn't in the mood...

The girl stayed silent, in her thoughts for a moment before finally saying with brutal honesty, "I'm not sure..." Before he could ask if she was hurt more than they had thought, she looked up at the boy wonder. "I'm not sure I'm gonna be able ta _do_ this... I've got Charlie, I've got my dogs, but I think that this little country girl should never have left her home... This is jus' my _second day_, an' I had to go out an' stop a goddamn _rape_. I mean, I'd heard the crime rate was high, and that the people here were corrupt an' rotten an' all, but... how's a person s'posed ta do this?"

He didn't answer, and her eyebrows furrowed together. "I've-I've never been in a place like this before... People down in Ludowici were nosey as _fuck_, yeah, but they _tried_. They tried to do the right thing, an' they didn't go about tryin' ta _kill_ people an' then tell the person they're tryin' ta kill that they're gonna _rape their goddamn corpse_. I mean, what the _fuck?!_ Are-do-can people really be so... _awful_...? My pop used to tell me ta try ta always see the good in people, but how can you find good in people like that...? How can there even _be_ people like that?! Is there somethin' in the water here err _what?_ I don't know if this is comin' up 'cause I'm _naïve_, err 'cause I almost got killed, err just really tired...?"

Batman's sidekick stayed silent. A voice answered her, but it wasn't Robin's. "It's not because you're naïve."

Batman and Charlie stood behind Robin, and Batman spoke once again. "You're right. A lot of the people here are corrupt beyond belief. But there are two sides to every coin... The only way you can deal with all the darkness is to find a light. And once you find it, don't let it go..."

Farrah chewed on her lip. "Find a light... well'p, I reckon I could try." She mumbled as Charlie came over. She expected him to just help her up or something, but _nope_. He scooped her right up and hugged the living shit out of her with surprising strength. It hurt, yeah, but she didn't have the heart to make him stop. Simply settling with patting his shoulder, she wheezed, "Yeah, I'm awlright, Charles... please try _not_ ta break my ribs..."

"_Oh!_" He nearly jumped out of his skin as he set her back down, twitching nervously as he wrung his hands together. "I-I-I'm so sorry, I-I di-didn't mean it, Farrah... I was j-just... Batman showed up in my window and-and told me how you staved off a criminal fr-from raping a girl but-but you got _hurt_, and I was-was so worried and so _proud_, but-"

"I get, I get it." She cut him off with a tired grin. "S'all good... I'm still kickin', no internal injuries er anythin'..." He didn't reply. Instead, he just hugged her again before letting go, ears bright red as he the edges of his lips twitched up. She grinned back before looking over at Robin. "The coffee's done, by the way. I don't know how you like it, so you'd better help yerself. Mugs're in the cabinet above the coffee maker. Would ya care fer some coffee, too, Bats?"

Said looked over at his sidekick, who was already putting sugar in his drink, before giving a curt nod and going to get a cup.

Farrah hummed and nodded to herself. "Yup. That proves it-this is all just a wacked up dream." She turned tail and trudged into the living, dropping to the carpeted floors and stretching out as Thor crawled into her lap as best he could. She used Ari as a pillow, ignoring the odd looks as she hollered back. "I'm goin' back ta sleep! Maybe this weird-ass dream'll stop an' make a turn that makes _sense_."

Charlie tried to suppress a smile. "Farrah... this isn't a dream..."

"Shut up! Yes it is! I sleep a _lot_, man, I _think_ I can tell the difference between dream an' reality by now!"

Robin snorted. "_Clearly_, you can't."

"Yer a figment a' my imagination, I don't have ta take this!" She shot back from the ground. Batman shared a look with his son and gave an amused smile as Charlie bit his lip to keep from laughing.

"Well... Do-do you need anything, then?" Charlie asked.

"I need some flippin' sleep, is what I need..." She grunted, only to pause as a thought hit her and adding meekly, "You could get me some coffee...? Don't care how ya make it..."

The tall man chuckled under his breath before doing as she asked. Once he got done, he crouched down next to the girl and placed the mug in her hands. Far sat up a bit before gulping down half the mug, despite the fact that it was scalding. She placed it back into Charlie's hands and pulled him into a quick hug before dropping back down onto Ari, falling asleep almost instantly.

Charlie smiled fondly at the girl before walking back into the small kitchen, only to find it empty, with two equally empty mugs on the counter. The scraggly man ran a hand through his hair with a sigh.

"What a night..."

A few buildings away, on the roof tops, Batman gave his sidekick a look. "What was that, Robin...? You were acting kind of strange..."

The boy wonder grunted as he pulled his dark hood over his head. "I know that girl from school..."

The man's eyes lit up from behind his mask. "Oh, really...? A friend?"

"Hardly," He replied with a scoff. "She just transferred here yesterday... She's a _freak_."

"Then why did you stay for coffee...?"

Robin rolled his eyes. "Tt, don't get any ideas... I was _thirsty_. She offered. Still a freak."

A smirk crossed the caped crusader's lips. "A freak she may be, but her actions were commendable. And I do recall you saying Dick a freak, too... You ended up preferring that _freak_ over me, at first."

"_Shut up_."

"Maybe you could," He paused for dramatic effect, "_Make some friends your own age_. Shocking to think about, I know."

"_Father._.. I love you, but I will not hesitate to _throw you off this building_."

Batman gave a rough chuckle.

* * *

It was a bright and sunny morning, yet chilly. Birds sang, kids laughed, and cheery teens waved goodbye to their parents as they headed to the doors of the school. Farrah groaned with irritation. She felt like crap... Imaginary black clouds tried to linger over her, and the girl was having a hard time trying to stave them off. And even _worse_, she wouldn't even be able to wear her beloved plain jacket... Farrah hadn't walked the girl home, so she hadn't been able to get her jacket back...

"Are-are you _sure_ you don't want to-to stay home and rest...?"

Farrah let her head loll to the side and groaned. "'M not sure... startin' ta have second thoughts," She grunted, "But we're here now... it'd be a waste a' gas ta change my mind... Guess I'll go, 'cause I'm too dumb ta take advantage of the chances I'm given. Need my education..."

"Don't say that," He chided gently, "Y-you're very bright. And I-I promise I won't mind, Farrah, if you decide you wish to stay and rest... You've had q-quite the night. It's not too late.."

She rolled her head to give him a hard stare before opening the door and stepping out, canteen in hand. "It is now."

The man rolled his eyes. "Fine... do you have your homework?"

"Yep."

"Alright," He sighed. "I-if the pain gets to be too much at any point, just call me, I-I'll come and-"

"-_Goodbye_." She cut him off and shut the door, giving him a thumbs up through the glass before slowly making her way to the double doors of Gotham as kids hurried by, shooting her odd looks. She didn't even know _why_ they were hurrying... Class didn't start for ten, fifteen minutes... The girl sighed and glared at the ground as she trudged along.

Really, of all the people that should have been hurrying, it was _her_. She had _no doubt_ that she would have to go around the school several times again to find her class, and at the speed she was going, the chances of her finding her class in time were dwindling to single digits... And she hadn't really made a good impression on the students here, so the chances of them recognizing her and deciding to help were even lower...

So, one could imagine her surprise when a warm hand gripped her hand and started tugging her along. Her head shot up, only to meet familiar bright blue eyes. _Damian fucking Wayne_...

"Uh..." She said slowly. "Are you helpin'...? _Me_...?"

He scoffed. "I merely took pity on you. You looked like a lost dog trying to find its home..."

"Gee willickers...," She said dryly, "I feel so special..."

"Tt, you _should_. I could have left you to wander the school."

"Yeah, sure, thanks" She mumbled, taking note of all the weird looks she was getting. "_Why are all these chicks lookin' at me like I spit on their mamas...?_"

Damian shrugged a shoulder, and she nodded a head in agreement.

"Yeah, girls're weird." The girl muttered, glancing down at her hand, which was still being held. "Erm... y'know, you can uh... You can let go, now, if ya want."

He jerked his hand away like he'd been burned, and scowled at the teasing smirk Farrah gave him. "Shut up."

"I didn't say anything!" She defended with a laugh.

"_Shut up_."

Her grin widened. "Yer an awful _moody_ guy, eh...?"

The boy stopped in the middle of the hall and glared. "I swear to _god_, if you do not shut up, I _will_ blacken your other eye with _no_ remorse!"

She went quiet for a second and studied him for a moment. His face was twisted with anger, but his eyes had yet to have that little _fire_ people got when they were ready to fight. "No you won't." She smiled. "I _know_ you won't."

He scowled and grabbed the collar of her shirt as it suddenly went silent in the halls. "Is that a _challenge?_"

"No, sir," She chuckled in his face, "Just a fact. Yer pretty far from the point where you wanna _hurt_ someone." His eyes narrowed even more, and he pulled her right up to his face. She blinked and grinned. "You have beautiful eyes."

Damian exhaled sharply from his nose and gave her a look before walking away, pausing for the briefest second to see if she was still following before continuing on his way. "You're not worth it... You aren't serious enough for me to waste energy..."

"But I _was_ serious," She chuckled as she limped just behind him. "You've got some really gorgeous eyes. I never really saw 'em 'till now."

"How about I cut out your tongue...?"

"_What?_" She raised her arms up in defense, wincing a bit to herself before asking, "Would you like it more if I insulted you? Here, this is a good one: yer momma's so fat that-"

He rolled his eyes. "I think you _want_ me to cut out your tongue."

"It'd certainly be an experience," She said dryly, opening her mouth and wiggling her tongue at him, only to shut it as he raised a hand, like he was actually going to do it. "I was jus' yankin' yer chain, _sheesh!_ I had a rough night, bo', gimme a break!"

He snorted and rolled his eyes as they walked into (hopefully) the room they needed to be in. "I figured that out already... What happened, anyways...? Was your accent so thick that someone assumed that you were insulting them and they retaliated accordingly...?"

She gave him a look. "Wow, you... you gotta fix up yer humor..."

"Why don't _you_ fix up your _accent?_" He shot back as he sat in his desk. Farrah couldn't really tell if he was playing or just being an ass, so she just settled with a standby that almost _always_ worked...

"Wow, that was so funny I forgot ta laugh..." She said dryly.

He raised a brow as more students filed in. "I could cripple you for life."

"Maybe," She shrugged, "But I don't think you would."

Damian scoffed. "What makes you think _that?_ Do you think I've suddenly become _fond_ of you or something? The dirty redneck from nowhere?" _Well_... at least he didn't call her uneducated... It was a start.

Farrah eased herself into the seat, grinding her teeth together to keep from wincing before crossing her arms on the desktop and resting her head on her arms. "No, not that... I'm jus' a good guesser, is all..."

The boy snorted, but didn't respond. Far took the time to look around a bit, only to heave a sigh and sit up.

"Daggon, an' I thought _country people_ were nosy! Could you folks kindly mind yer own business?" She scoffed as several heads turned back to the front. "Can't I have a single conversation without ya'll people _gapin'_ at me like you ain't got no sense?"

Legate Wolff cleared rather loudly, drawing the attention of most of the class. "Any who, legionnaires, pass up your homework, and then we'll get started with today's lecture. Hop to it, lads!"

All but throwing her paper to the chick a few seats in front of her, Farrah heaved an exhausted sigh as she rested her head in her palm. She had a feeling that today was going to _suck_...

* * *

"Did your drunk dad beat you up last night or something...?" _She'd been right_...

Farrah heaved a sigh as Ms. Martinez barked for the chick-the same one that had called Charlie crazy the other day-to stop. Far, poor, tired Far, gave the chick a look. "Wow, yer so _original_... Haven't heard that one before," She said sarcastically, coughing loudly to make sure she caught it, "_Heavy sarcasm_."

The girl glared and stood up, despite Ms. Martinez's barking for her to sit back down. "Who do you think you are?!"

She rolled her eyes to the ceiling. _Oh Lordy_... "I'm Farrah Bowman. Daughter a' William Bowman an' Mary Davids. Nice ta meet ya... and you are...?"

"_Farrah,_" Ms Martinez scolded lightly, "You're not helping!"

"Going to beat you to the ground if you don't stop being such a bitch!"

Ms. Martinez frowned. "Not if I call security, you won't!"

"What am I doing?" She asked incredulously, "You asked who I was, an' I answered! What do ya want me ta do, _be intimidated_? 'Cause I'm _not_. I can _act_ like I am, but... I'd be fakin' it... I'm not tryin' ta pick a fight er anythin' - too tired fer that - but I'm not gonna jus' lie down an' take what yer dishin' out without retaliatin'. If you don't want someone to talk back, then don't say anythin' at all..." She folded her arms over her chest as she muttered, "Somethin's _seriously wrong_ with the folks down'ere..."

The girl screeched and leaped at Farrah, who lifted her leg and put her booted (They allowed student's to choose which shoes they wished to wear) foot on the girl's stomach to keep her at bay. The girl was in such a frenzy, she didn't even stop to move Far's leg, she just kept trying to get at the tired redneck and kept failing.

By then, as you can imagine, most of the students jumped away so not to get caught in the crossfire and watched the show. Farrah grimaced from her seat as the chick started clawing at her pants leg. "Please stop... these're some expensive clothes, an' I don't want 'em tore up already..."

Damian Wayne, who had been the only one not to get out of the way, finally stood up with a scowl. "For Christ's sake, stop being such an imbecile, Dallard, and sit the fuck down!" When she didn't heed him, he walked over in two long strides and loomed over her, nostrils flaring as he grabbed her arm and pulled her away like she was a rag doll. "Idiotic _wench__!_"

"Julie Dallard, the security is on its way _right now!_" Ms. Martinez yelled angrily, "If you don't sit in your seat, you'll be in even _more_ trouble than you are! _Sit_. _Down_."

"I jus' want it ta be clear," Far noted as she inspected her pants leg. "I did _not_ fight back. I kept her from hurtin' me an' gettin' a lawsuit thrown in her lap. I didn't retaliate, I jus' kept her from doin' somethin' she would regret."

"We _know_," Ms. Martinez sighed, "We all saw... Mr. Wayne, you may sit down now. The two of you should probably expect to get called to the office sometime today... I'll do my best to make sure you two don't get in a lot of trouble..."

Damian just tutted and stalked back to his seat. Just as he got seated, the doors busted open and a huge, well-tanned guy with dark, cropped hair, stubble, and tattoo sleeves on both his forearms came in. He had come in like he had been expecting a fight, and his shoulders drooped when he saw none.

"Am I... Am I at the right class...?" He asked in his deep, bass voice.

"You are, Jack," Ms. Martinez said, "Ms. Julie Dallard tried to get into another fight..."

"_Another one_...?" The man sighed and glared at the chick-Julie. "Man-you-I thought-_get over here!_ I'm sick of coming for you, man, when you gonna learn?!" Julie sat up and muttered under her breath as the man, Jack, stared her down. Once she was in the hall, he had a huge mood swing and got a big, dimpled grin on his face. "You guys have a good day! Stay outta trouble, or _I'll_ deal with you."

Farrah looked between Damian and Ms. Martinez a couple of times, before slamming her head to her desk with a groan. "_I should'a skipped..._"

* * *

Third period, eleventh grade Lit. was a blur, mostly because she was asleep during most of it, and fourth (Business Essentials) was, too. During both classes, Wayne tried to keep her up by kicking her desk when she started nodding off. If she hadn't been so _tired_, she might have appreciated it. But she was, so... he seemed like a bit of ass in her eyes.

But finally, she reached her two haven classes... the only two classes she was _free_ of the grumpy teen. Chemistry and US History. Which, somewhat unfortunately, somewhat not, were the classes she actually _wanted_ to pay attention to. Chemistry was interesting as hell to her, and so was history... it seemed like a great big story to her. One that never ended, with good guys and bad guys, wars, peace marches, and all the general good stuff.

Luckily, those seemed to pass fairly quickly, too. It seemed in the blink of an eye she was following faintly familiar shirts and heads, trudging to the lunchroom. And though her stomach cursed at her, she walked right past the cafeteria and out onto the field, to that tree. The one that had dropped a phone on her.

Once she reached the base of the tree, the girl all but collapsed into the grass and gave a long yawn, resting her back against the tree and shutting her eyes to take a power nap.

But her plans took an abrupt left turn when the branches began to rustle. At first, it wasn't that big of a concern... Until a loud _crash!_ came from the tree, and Farrah barrel rolled out of there without a second thought, squeezing her eyes shut so not to see any potential danger and freeze.

She ended up flat on her back, and opened her eyes to ensure her safety. Once she was _sure_ no broken tree branches had fallen on and or maimed her, she grimaced and wheezed in pain. "_Oh fuck_... _That_ hurt... Ow..."

A puzzled voice hummed from above her. "Now, why ever did you do that...?"

"'Cause," She grunted as she folded her hands on her stomach, looking into cool, blue eyes,, "Last time I heard that, an' didn't jump out the way, I ended up with a hundred fifty pound dude on my shoulders an' a broken collarbone, _Wayne_."

He raised a brow from his spot, hanging upside down from the tree. "You seem to have had an... _unconventional_ childhood."

"Yeah... loved it, though. It was a blast," She gave a small smile, cocking her head to the side as she looked at him. "Now, what on _God's Earth_ are ya doin' that fer...?" He simply shrugged, and she blinked. She had expected an insult of some sort...

She looked back to her hands, only to look back up as the boy spoke. "You... never _did_ tell what happened to you."

Her eyes went right back to her hands as she folded her fingers together. "Well... ta be honest, I'm not sure you'd believe it. I'm havin' a hard time comin' ta terms with it, myself."

Damian tutted and tried not to look smug as he crossed his arms, watching the girl fidget. "_Try me_."

She dared a look up at him, only to double take. Light filtered through the leaves, making the edges of Damian almost _glow_, and his blue eyes looked uncharacteristically kind. She could almost hear the angel choir in her head. Batman's words rang faintly in her head: '_find a light in the darkness_'. He _had_ been acting a bit nicer...

"Nuh-uh..." She muttered under her breath, mentally throwing rocks at the angel choir to get them to shut up. "_Nope_."

"What...?"

She blinked and shook her head vigorously. "Uh... nothin'. So, uh..." She rubbed her knuckles, "Would you believe me if'n I said I -_sorta_- had coffee with Batman an' Robin...?"

"Maybe... if you'll explain how you _got_ to that point."

Farrah laughed nervously and rubbed the back of her neck as she sat up a bit, resting on her forearms. "I don't... I don't really like ta show off much, so, uh-"

"-It's not gloating if it's fact." He raised a brow and motioned for her to go on.

"Well," She sighed, "It all started off with my dog, Thor, barkin' up a storm at the window... I cursed him down to hell an' back, but he kept right on goin', an'..." The girl faltered. "You, uh... you gonna stay like that the whole time...?"

Damian harrumphed, but gave a curt nod before reaching up and grabbing the branch, letting his legs slip and drop to the ground before sitting cross legged on the ground.

"Okay, so... he jumps on my bed an' drags me out by the shirt..."

* * *

**Author's note~**

**Okay, gotta make this quick: Sorry it took so long! Been busy as of late, and I really gotta shower because I was outside dragging trees to the fire pile and smell gross.**

**Thanks so much for all the support. All the reads, faves, follows, and reviews. ILU guiz!  
**

**Tell me if I made any mistakes, and as always, I hope my goofy little tale made ya smile a bit, yo.**

**Aaaaand, I gotta go. But first,_ almost eight thousand words are on here, I feel so damn accomplished!_  
**

**Peace off and bless your face,**

**, _Blue_**


	5. Chapter 5

Ah... So, here she was again. Back at that one _stupid_ blank piece of paper on that _stupid_ easel. And no ideas _what so freaking ever_.

Farrah exhaled and grabbed her canteen, pulling off the cup and pouring coffee into it as she stared at that damned paper. Taking sips every now and then, she glared at the paper, racking her brain for anything that she might want to do.

"Are you trying to burn a hole in the paper with your eyes?"

The girl yelped and jerked back, spilling some hot coffee on her hands in the process. Mrs Roberts gave a sheepish grin and waved.

"_Sorry_..." The caped woman chirped. "I... was going to ask you how your project was coming along."

"It isn't."

"Okay, that's _fine_," She assured the young redneck, "You have a month. Don't force anything..."

"Sure," Farah sighed, "In the end, if I can't think a' anythin', could I jus' do somethin' that involves one a' my favorite video games or whatever...?"

"Sure, sounds good!" Mrs. Roberts grinned before flitting off to check on another student's progress.

Damian raised a brow from her side. "You play video games...?"

She hummed and nodded. "Oh, a' _course_. I had ta leave my Xbox 'cause I didn't have enough room, but my pa's sent it up. It should get here around a couple a' days."

He gave her a look. "Girls don't play video games..."

She tried not to look insulted. "Yeah... they do."

"_You_," He told her, "Are a liar. No they don't."

The girl harrumphed and gave him a look. "Yes they do. I play all sorts a' stuff. All the Halo's, the Elder Scrolls series, Dead Island, the Battlefield's, all the SwordWalkers..." She faltered. "Well... not _all_ a' them, I ain't had the chance to get the newest one, the third one... Plus, whatever else I got hangin' around. All sorts a' stuff. When I was younger, I was partial to the ones with the superheroes in 'em."

"You're just saying that," He trailed off suspiciously. "It's been done before..."

Far scoffed and raised a brow. "Test me, then, if yer so sure I'm '_jus' sayin' that_'."

"Who's your favorite character in Sword Stalkers?"

"Oh," She snorted, "The Valkyrie dude fer sure, Bjorn. Did you _see_ his mace, and the armor...? And he could summon those cool-ass polar bear things...? _Epic_."

"Main boss in Oblivion?"

She grimaced and snapped her fingers as she tried to remember.. "Uh, what _was_ his name... Jyggalag! No, wait, that was in the DLC, uh... fuckin'-fuckin'... _Dagon!_ Mehrunes Dagon! _That_ was it!" She grinned at herself. "Knew I knew it..."

"Master Chief's A.I.?"

She scoffed. "Cortana, _duh_... What'cha think I am, some sorta idiot? I know I _talk_ like one, but _come on_, now, Wayne..."

Damian raised a brow. "Okay... maybe you _weren't_ lying..."

"Duh! Ain't you ever met a girl that likes video games?" When he shook his head, she nearly dropped her cup. "Fer real...?" Once he nodded, it was decided. Farrah stood up and raised her arms. "Alright, who here's a girl that plays video games?"

A girl raised her hand, and for a minute, Far smirked triumphantly, only to have her face fall when the girl opened her mouth. "Sims and Cooking Mama!"

A look of disgust crossed the redneck's face. "Man, _put yer hand back down!_ Those ain't _games_, those are... are... disgraces to humanity! _Ugh_.." She shook her head. "Anyone else?" No other hands rose, and Farrah blinked in confusion. "What, _really?!_" Blank stares looked back at her, and she made a face. "Y'all people..." Her eye twitched as she threw her arms up in the air with exasperation. "_Y'all people! Ugh!_"

Mrs. Roberts giggled. "It's just this _one class_. I'm sure you'll find one."

She grunted and turned her gaze back to the easel. She almost didn't _want_ to find one... These people were like a whole new species... Especially the girls... Now, she'd never really had a lot of _girl_ friends in her little town - she mostly liked to hang out with guys, but _still_...

The redneck shook her head to herself as she sat back down, staring at the paper for a while before looking up near the front. "'Ey, Willy!"

The blonde boy looked back. "Yeah?"

"What're you doin' fer the project?"

He glanced back at his easel and unclipped the paper, showing a graphite drawing of the Green Arrow. "When I was little, I used to pretend to be the Green Arrow, so I just figured I'd draw him... What are you doing?"

She sighed and gestured to the paper. "Staring at a blank piece of paper..."

William snorted and grinned. "Nice... Oh, and, uh... Didn't wanna be nosy, but... What happened to you...?"

"I stopped a rape and had coffee with Batman and Robin."

The boy blinked and stared as several people laughed. He scratched his head as he gave a small chuckle. "Okay, _sure_... but seriously, what happened?"

Farrah shared a look with Damian, eyebrows raised. _Told him_... The girl looked back over. "I fell outta the bed."

He barked a laugh. "Well geeze, what did you land on? _Bricks_?"

She shrugged. "Somethin' like that..." As William sniggered, she took a sip of her coffee and looked back at her blank paper before raising her hand. "Mrs. Roberts, I can _not_ think a' anythin'... can I jus' sleep, an' try again tomorrow?"

"As long as you get it done!~"

Farrah nodded and let her head fall against the paper, raising her hand in a thumbs up. "Cool..."

* * *

So, she slept. Dreaming of Captain America, Hawkeye, and herself out trying to stop the forces of Hydra while the drones kept droning propaganda whilst being pounded on. But despite that fact, she still managed to jump up, throw her backpack over her shoulder, and be the first one out of the class when the dismissal bell rang. And among the first to pass through the double doors to the parking lot.

She looked around, searching for that one car, the red Camry that held Charlie and her ticket to freedom. Not finding it, she groaned and walked to the edge of the sidewalk to wait, where that one butler guy was, once again. She didn't really know _why_ she went over there... Maybe it was his British accent. She'd never heard anyone with a British accent before until him, and she found it to be fun to listen to.

"Good evening, madam." The man greeted.

The girl gave a small wave. "How do, sir."

"I'm quite alright, thank you for asking," He gave her a once over and raised a brow. "Erm... might I ask what happened to you?"

Far gave a half-smile and rubbed her eyes tiredly. "Nothin', really... Just stuff... But, uh, a word of _advice_... If you ever happen ta hear a _scream_, an' ya run over ta help, expect ta hurt."

His eyebrows raised a bit. "_Oh_." He stated, understanding in his voice as he nodded.

"_Yeah_." She grimaced and rubbed the back of her neck. "Yeah..."

A silence came over them a few moments before the guy jumped up like he'd left his roast in the over and suddenly remembered it. "Oh! My sincerest apologies, ma'am, I completely forgot to introduce myself..." He held out his hand for her to shake, which she grabbed firmly. "I am Alfred J. Pennyworth."

"Farrah Bowman."

"A pleasure to officially meet you, ma'am." He nodded. "And very _strong_ handshake. Very good."

The girl smiled."You, too... And thanks. My grammie used ta give me _hell_ when I'd shake the other kids hand's too strong an' they'd whine. Way I see it, a strong handshake means a strong person."

"It does indeed madam." He pulls his hand back and puts both hands folded behind his back. "I do believe that is your guardian, over to the right..."

"Huh?" She looked over just in time to see the red car pull in. "Oh... Well, thanks, Alfred. See ya." He nodded once and offered a small smile before turning his attention back ahead. Farrah walked, trying her best not to limp, over to the passenger side and hopped in with a sigh of relief.

"Sup, Cap'." She greeted, "You ready to go home an' sleep?"

Charlie breathed a laugh and gave a tentative smile as he gripped the wheel and started to slowly make his way out of the parking lot. "S-so long as you don't have homework, yes." He faltered. "And i-if you don't mind me asking, why do you call me that...?"

"What-Cap'?" When he nodded, Farrah just shrugged. "I... I dunno, ta be honest... I just see you, an' I think '_Captain_.' Do you... want me ta stop?"

"No-no!" He assured her, ears turning red, "I just... I was curious... I didn't think you'd remember that."

She raised a brow. "Remember what?"

A sort of goofy, though tentative grin crossed his face. "Long ago, when I-I lived with your and your family-you were very young, I would r-read comics to you. Namely, Captain America comics."

"Say what, now?!" She grinned excitedly, "Fer real?"

"Yeah." He nodded as he twisted the steering wheel between his hands, "You _loved_ it when I r-read Captain America... He was your favorite."

"He still is!" She laughed as she play-pushed his shoulder. "_Dude! That's_ why I've always been into comics! Been readin' 'em since forever, I always _wondered_ how I got hooked on 'em! And you-_you!_" She threw her arms around Charlie and hugged him.

He blushed and smiled, using one hand to pat the top of her head awkwardly while keeping the other on the wheel. "You-you're still very affectionate..."

Farrah blinked. "Is that bad?"

Charlie chuckled and ruffled her hair. "Not at all."

* * *

"_Babies!_" Farrah screamed in greeting, kneeling down to the ground only to get knocked to the ground by an excitable Thor. His whole rear end wiggled as he trembled with excitement and furiously licked her neck, growling and groaning with complaints. Ari gave the young dog a look before going to Far and nuzzling the girl's head. "I love ya little _pests_," She grinned, smooching Ari's large shoulder as she hugged Thor, "Y'all are just... _ugh_... the best."

Charlie gave the cooing girl a look before stepping over her and the dogs.

As he passed, a thought hit Farrah. "Oh, wait! Hey, Charles, I got a question ta ask you."

He paused mid-step and turned to face her. "Yes?"

"What do you do?" She inquired curiously. "I mean, I know yer a scientist an' all that, but... What exactly do you _do_? Like, what're you workin' on? Or what was the last thing you did?"

He froze up a moment. Every muscle in his body froze, and his eyes widened for just a split second, before he straightened up and cleared his throat. "I-I'm... afraid th-that is, erm... c-classified. I-I can assure you, though, i-it's _very_ big... I'm afraid I just c-can't tell you just yet..."

Her shoulders sunk and she jokingly pouted. "Awww... _shoot_."

Charlie didn't catch the joke, though... He moved like he was gonna come over and hug her or something, but faltered half-way through and just settled with fidgeting with his hands. "I-I-I can assure you, o-once it's ready-perfected-You will be the first to know of it!"

She grinned reassuringly and gave him a thumbs up. "Cool." She stood up with a groan and a wince, stretching her legs as she gestured to the kitchen. "I uh... I saw some Shin Ramyun in there, the korean stuff...? Want me to cook us up some? I make it _good_... put a few slices of cheese, scramble some eggs, get some sweet chili sauce in there... _ooh_, it's amazing."

The man raised a brow. "That... does not sound appealing..."

"Well, it _is_," She assured him, "It's delicious. Try it...?"

Grimacing but nodding, he sighed. "I _suppose_... It couldn't be as bad as some of the things _I_ make and eat, I suppose..."

"Awesome!" Dropping her backpack onto the ground, she headed into the kitchen with her faithful hounds on her heels. "Yer gonna love this, Cap!"

He made a face. "If... If you say so..."

"I do," She hummed as she pulled out a pot and spun it by the handle, "An' hey, once I'm done, we could go ta the movies, if you want... I still have money left over from my old job."

"You had a job...?"

"Oh, _yeah_..." Farrah waved a hand dismissively as she put water into the pot and turned on the stove, "I'd babysit the young'uns on my street from time ta time... The kids loved the _shit_ outta me..." A frown tugged at her lips as she was hit with an unexpected pang of melancholy. "I miss 'em... Lil' Barry, especially..." She trailed off and zoned out a bit before shaking her head vigorously, giving a somewhat forced smile. "But, uh... yeah... I had a job."

Now... Charlie hadn't gotten his various degrees for no reason-he was by no means an idiot. But he _was_ socially awkward... Had he been a different person, he would have hugged the girl, or _something_, but he was who he was. So, he shuffled closer and brushed his hand against her arm, intending to grip her shoulder but losing the nerve and settling with fidgeting with his hands.

"Um-uh..." He blushed and suddenly stared at his feet when she turned to look at him. "We... we can-can go see a movie on Friday, if-if you want..."

A smile, a real one, tugged at her lips. Farrah was a little oblivious sometimes, but she could figure out what he was trying to do, and appreciated it. "It's a done deal, Cap'n." She held out her fist for him to bump it, but only got a curious, confused stare. "Yer... s'posed to tap yer knuckles against mine. It's... called a fist bump."

"Oh... _Oh!_" He jumped up like he had gotten shocked, ears turning red as he lightly tapped his fist against hers.

* * *

**Author's note~  
**

**Yeeeaaaaahhhhhh... This one... This one's short. Like, almost stupidly short. But y'know what, I wanted to do some mo-foing Charlie/Farrah bonding time, so I did. I kinda expected it to be a _bit_ longer, but it just didn't turn out that way. *shrugs* Sorry guys.**

**And I'm not really sure what's gonna come up, next, either. I am on a _roll_ of procrastination and brain-dead-ness. Blame Tumblr, yo. I finally got off my butt and made a rather crappy blog, and it's SO much fun. I was missing out, guiz... **

**Bear with me, guys! ʕ´ᴥ`ʔ**

**, _Blue_**


	6. Chapter 6

Thor and Ari - well, mostly Thor - wanted to go with Charlie and Far to school the next day... Farrah _might_ have liked it more if Thor had not shot out of the car when she opened the door to get out, forcing her to sprint after him with her twenty, thirty something pound backpackstrapped to her person.

"_Thor!_" She barked between breaths, "I _hate_ you!" He didn't respond. He just kept on running, and thus, made her keep running, only to suddenly stop in front of a rather familiar person.

Momentum kept poor Farrah going, and since she had been right behind the young dog, she almost crashed right into the guy, just barely able to turn a bit so not to hit him head-on. A yelp ripped from her throat as she slammed into his shoulder and lost her balance, tumbling to ground with a spat curse.

She rolled along the ground a bit before finally stopping on her back, facing the sky with a dazed look on her face. "Am I dead...?"

"Not _yet_." A voice told her dryly as a hand grabbed her arm and helped her sit up. "But if you keep leaping before you look, you will be, soon."

Farrah blinked as Thor crawled into her lap, looking to the source of the voice and meeting two piercing blue eyes. "_Oops_... Were you the guy I ran into...? _Please say no_."

He raised a brow. "I am."

"_Fuck_." She slapped her palm to her head, lightly flicking the guilty-looking Thor in the head. "See what you make me do ta people? _Run into 'em_." She shook her head like she couldn't even _deal _with his shit before looking up at Damian with a sheepish look on her face. "My bad, Wayne... Sorry 'bout that."

The boy grunted and ran a hand through his hair before holding out his hand for her to grab. "Tt... you _should_ be. I suppose I could forgive you, just this once."

Her brow raised, and a small smile crossed her face as she grabbed his hand. "_Gee_, that's jus' _swell_, bo'. _Thanks_..."

Just as she got halfway up, he let go of her hand and she plopped back onto the ground with an _oof!_ He smirked. "Perhaps next time you'll think twice before being sarcastic to the person who's helping you up...?"

"_Yeah, yeah, yeah_... Gol-lee, yer worse'n my pops..." She huffed and held up her hand. "_I'm sorry_... now will ya please help me up...?" Damian gave her a look, but did as she asked. Once she was up, she added quietly, "Ya high cotton city slicker..." He moved his arm to do something, and she threw her arms up protectively, "_Oh God_, I was just kidding!"

He gave her a bewildered look, hand halfway through his hair. "You are a _freak_."

"Then _why_ in sam hell're you talkin' ta me..?" She asked with a short laugh, "Seriously, bud, I sure as hell appreciate all the help an' stuff, but I don't wanna be yer _charity case_. I know, I know, I'm a battered an' bruised up chick who's outta her element, but I can adapt." His eyebrows rose, and her face suddenly felt a few degrees too warm as she let her hand dangle to pet Thor. "Err, uh... what I'm _tryin'_ ta get at, is that you don't need ta feel like you've _gotta_ help me."

Damian's lips twitched before he told her quietly, "I am not helping you because I have to. I'm helping because I _want_ to."

Farrah blinked and opened her mouth to speak, only to shut it again, before finally mumbling, "Oh..." She shuffled awkwardly. To be honest with herself, this guy confused the hell out of her. The first day she met him, he was an ass, and now he's suddenly being all nice and stuff...? _Had she missed something?_ "Awlright..." She finally shrugged and looked down at Thor, patting her chest.

He leaped up into her arms, and she grunted as she shifted her hold on him. As he licked her face, Damian raised a brow. "Is that necessary...? He's perfectly capable of walking on his own..."

"Well, yeah, he is," She shrugged, biting back a wince as the dog nudged her still-bruised neck, "But... I love 'im. I wanna carry him while I still can; 'sides, he's not that heavy."

"_While you still can?_" He quoted incredulously as the two walked back over to Charlie's car.

The girl nodded and hummed. "Yep. He's still jus' a puppy, bo'. He's at the fairly late stage, but still - a puppy." Damian snorted, but didn't respond. Once Far reached Charlie, who was waiting outside his car, she handed the dog to him and gave the tall man a hug before waving and following Damian back to the school.

Once again, Farrah noticed quite a few stares in her direction, and despite the fact that it irked her a bit, she ignored it. Instead, she settled with trying to memorize the endless halls and doors to memory, only to realize within forty or so seconds that that was _not_ going to happen...

"This place, man..." She muttered to herself. Damian glanced back at her questioningly, and she gave a sheepish grin. "Not you, I was jus'... how do you even keep up with this place? It's _huge_, an' there's _three floors_. I didn't even know schools could _have_ three floors." She gestured around with a chuckle. "An' did you see the architecture in this place? My _church_ wasn't even this fancy. Ain't nobody got time fer all this, except, _apparently_, you fancy schmancy people in Gotham!"

A small, almost unnoticeable twitch up in his lips, something no one would have noticed unless they were looking _really hard_ came over his face, and Far's eyes lit up. A goofy grin crossed her face and she nudged him. "I saw that, Wayne, I saw you smile!" He immediately scowled, much to her disappointment, and rolled his eyes.

"So what?"

"_So_, I'm pretty durn sure that's the first time I ever seen you smile, even if it _was_ just barely! That's worth a few hoorahs!" He ignored her, and she studied him curiously. "Y'know, yer a _weird_ kid..."

"Tt, and _you_'re normal?"

She nodded. "By my standards, _yeah_."

He scoffed. "Says the person who claims to have had coffee with Batman and Robin...?"

Farrah faltered mid-sentence, furrowing her eyebrows as she studied the teen. She really couldn't tell if he was joking, or actually trying to be an ass... And really, she didn't feel like getting on anymore people's blacklists. Hopefully, he was just really bad at joking, she finally concluded before humming, "Yep."

His eyes shot to the side, looking at her with an almost _amusedly_ surprised look in them. "Most people would have gotten furious at me, by now..."

"Ta be honest, I considered it..." She admitted sheepishly. "I can't rightly tell: are you tryin' ta joke around, or are you jus' bein' a jerk...?"

He grunted but didn't reply as he stopped in front of a doorway and gestured her in, following her into the room.

Legate Wolffe beamed at the sight of Farrah and hopped up. "Ah! My centurio!" He waved her over, "Come here, young centurio, I have a question to ask you."

She gave an uncertain look. "Erm... Sir, I'd love ta spar, but I'm a bit bruised up, I'm afraid..."

The man waved a hand dismissively. "No, no, no, what I wanted to ask was... Well, have you ever considered being an author...?"

"Uh... Pardon...?"

He chuckled and walked over, putting a hand on her shoulder. "You have a way with words, young soldier... Mayhaps you should consider entering a writing contest or something of the sorts...?"

"Um... hows about no?" She said cautiously, testing the waters of her limits. "I'm... not really into doin' that kinda stuff... Sorry, sir."

"Hmm..." He hummed, idly scratching his stubble, "Shame... Ah well. Perhaps I can convince you another day, eh, Bowman?"

She snorted. "You can try, sir."

"I most certainly will," He chuckled, "Now, off to your seat! Class starts soon, and I have big plans for today. _Big_ plans!"

The girl shrugged and nodded before heading to her seat, all but throwing her book bag on the ground before carefully lowering herself into the seat as more and more people shuffled into the room. Once she was seated comfortably, she glanced over at Damian as a thought hit her.

"Hey, so Damian... why're you so nice ta me all the sudden?"

He looked over and raised a brow. "What...?"

"Well... I mean, I never see you talk to anyone else, not really...You were pretty jerky ta me two days ago, an' now yer all... I wouldn't say _nice_, but yer nic_er_..." She trailed off awkwardly.

Damian's eyes met hers for a moment before looking back to the front of the class. "You are more tolerable than the rest of the idiots here, I suppose..."

"That, an' I'm prob'ly the only one who'll put up with yer bull crap." She added. She'd meant it as a joke, but he didn't shoot an insult back, so that seemed like a pretty big red flag to her. She leaned a little closer. "Dami... Damian, I was joking."

"No, you weren't..." He muttered.

Her eyebrows drew together, and she opened her mouth to deny it, only to falter. "Y'know, maybe I'm not..." His eyes shot to hers as she fiddled with her fingers, "From what I can tell, I _am_ the only one who'll tolerate you."

He grimaced. "Is that supposed to make me feel better...?"

"No." She answered simply, "It's jus' the truth. I ain't gonna lie ta you; that's not my way. But, uh... _this_ might make ya feel better: I'll put up with you if you put up with me..." She gave a small shrug before leaning back against her seat and strumming a guitar that wasn't there.

Damian looked back over at the bruised girl who was plucking at an imaginary guitar while mouthing lyrics. "You are a _freak_."

"I thought we established this already..."

"But..." Her head shot up and watched him as he continued, "But I believe you won't be _too_ much of a nuisance..."

A smile crossed her face as she laughed under her breath, "Oh, not _too_ much of a nuisance...? I feel so special."

"You shouldn't."

"But I do, anyways."

The edges of his lips twitched up. "Don't."

"_Don't tell me what ta do_."

"I just did. If you don't, I can break your face."

She snorted and grinned. "You can _try_... _Bring it_, Wayne. Jus' lettin' you know right now, though... If I go down, I'm gonna try my damnedest ta take you down with me." She paused as she ran over what she said in her head before adding, "_Bow chicka bow wow_."

* * *

"Dad, you need ta stop calling me."

"_But I wanna talk to my baby!_" Farrah's father whined over the phone.

"But I'm at _school_, pa," She sighed, rubbing her face as she leaned against the tree, "Yer gonna get me in trouble... I call you when I get home stuff, and I'm kinda in the middle a' somethin'..."

"Oh, really? What're you doin'?"

Farrah made a face at the grass beneath her feet. "Er... I'm kinda jus' chillin' with a friend..."

The man gave an ecstatic laugh. "You made a friend! C'mon, ya _gotta_ tell me about 'em!"

The girl dared a look at Damian, who was watching her with an amused expression. "Well... He's got pretty eyes..."

"_He?_" Her father chuckled teasingly. "And pretty eyes, ya say...? You ain't got a crush, do you...?"

"_No!_" She defended exasperatedly, "I jus' can't really think of anythin' else that's... good." Damian arched a brow, and she added quickly, "E-except, a' course, how darn _helpful_ he's been! I mean, _shit_, he's been showin' me all around an' stuff-I'd be lost as hell if he weren't around."

"Soo... you have a crush?"

The girl heaved a sigh and rubbed her neck. "_No_, pa. Tell me, _why_ are you so concerned about this...?"

"Well... You're getting of age, and you need someone to take care a' ya. You tend ta find trouble in places no one else would, and-"

"-_Goodbye_, pa." Far cut in dryly. She heard his laughter as she cut off the line and shoved her phone into her pocket.

Damian smirked as she rubbed her face in exhaustion. "Your father sounds... _interesting_."

She put her pointer finger right in his face. "Shut up." She told him shortly. He tutted with a crooked grin, but stayed silent. Farrah started to pull out a bag of Cheetos out of her jacket pocket, but stopped when she heard the sky rumble, looking up cautiously. "Hey, maybe we should head in..."

_Just_ as she finished saying that, it started to downpour. Like, one of those huge buckets at a water park that fill up with water and tip over onto the waiting and eager patrons below. Except she wasn't a patron, it was cold as fuck, and she _sure as hell_ wasn't eager.

The two shot up and sprinted to the door. Or rather, _Damian_ sprinted, and Farrah hobbled while swearing loudly. He was already at the door when he glanced back, only to see that Farrah wasn't even halfway there. Barely even a quarter of the way, really.

So, scowling while he did so, he ran back into the rain and picked her up, ignoring her yelp of pain and curses while running her back to the door and pulling it open. Only once they were safely inside, did he put her back down. They were both soaked, and Farrah didn't know about him, but _she_, for one, was freezing. The rain was cold. As. Hell.

The girl immediately hunched over while hugging herself, cursing and spitting. "I _hate_ this fuckin' place! Fuckin' dark an' dank, an' it's _cold_, an' _argh!_ God fucking _damn it!_"

Damian scoffed. "I believe it hates you, too... The weather isn't usually this... _shitty_."

She huffed and scowled. "Well _fuck it, too_, then. And _you_!" She pointed at him. "What're you doin', comin' the fuck back, dumbass?!"

"Your _welcome_." He said sarcastically.

"No, I mean... You were _there!_ You didn' need ta come back, daggon it!" She scolded, southern accent getting thicker with frustration. "Should'a left me, yew fuckin' - _I_ would'a left! I would'a thrown mah coat over ya ta keep you dry, but _shit_, I would'a high-tailed it outta there! Are yew _tryin'_ ta catch yer death?! Fuckin' _sense_, man! Get some! I was _fine!_"

He blinked, completely unfazed. "Your hillbilly accent gets thicker when you are angry, did you know that?"

She threw her arms up in exasperation. "Did you hear a _single daggon thing_ I said?! Or did she fly raght by ya?!"

"No, I got it." He nodded calmly as he peeled off his soaking coat. "You're stubborn and ungrateful..."

The girl sighed and slapped her palm to her forehead. "_No_, I _am_ grateful; but bo', wha's the point of gettin' the _both_ a' us sick, when it could'a jus' been me...?" He shrugged, and she heaved a sigh while following suit and pulling her waterlogged jacket off. "Fuckin' ridiculous... _Fine_. _Thank you_... you stubborn ass."

The edges of his lips twitched up. "You're welcome... And also, I hope you know that everyone can see your bra."

She shrugged. "I know, but I don't rightly care... Tha's life. Sometimes, people'll see yer bra. It ain't a big deal... Is there a dryer er somethin' in this place somewhere?"

"No." He cocked his head to the side, eyebrows furrowed. "A red plaid bra, _really...?_"

"_Shut up_, it's _my_ bra, not yers. I can have whatever kind a' bra I damn-well please... An' I have to walk around this _damn_ school wet. I. Hate. Everything." Farrah grunted, shaking herself like a wet dog, sending water droplets on everything in a five foot radius.

Damian made a face. "You're getting water on me..."

She shot him a look. "Oh, holy _shit_, that's _such_ a tragedy!" She threw an arm up as she mocked him, "You're already _soaked ta the bone_, God forbid you get a bit more on ya!"

The boy lightly pushed her shoulder before walking, glancing back to make sure she was following. "I hope you are aware that I could have _left_ you."

"You _should_ have!" She exclaimed exasperatedly as she caught up. "You can't pull that on me - I _wanted_ you ta leave me! Daggon city slicker..."

He shot her a look. "That was uncalled for... _Do_ try to remember that I could easily kill or paralyze you with two fingers."

She started to retort, only to falter. "Wait... fer real? You can do that?" She poked him in the neck with her index and middle finger in an attempt to try it. "I didn' know that was possible! You gotta show me!" She poked another spot on his neck, and he grabbed her hand with an iron grip.

"Tt... first of all, the spot isn't on the neck, it's on the forehead." He dropped her hand, and it fell limply to her side. "Secondly, I think if I did that, everyone within a five-mile radius would be in danger. You would probably try it on every single person you saw..."

"Would not!" She protested. "I would jus'... Er... Well, only on the _bad guys!_"

He raised a brow. "Define '_bad guys_'..."

"Well..." She hummed, "Rapists an' murderers an' stuff... Also, every other person that annoys me... It'll depend on my mood, really..." She paused before adding loudly to the uncharacteristically quiet cafeteria, "An' all you nosey bastards with starin' problems-!"

Damian cut her off by putting his hand over her mouth, an amused twinkle in his eye as he led her away. "That settles it... I will _never_ teach you how to do that. Ever." A muffled whine came through his hand, and he snorted. "Stop whining." He faltered. "And stop licking me."

She pried his hand off for a moment, just long enough to add loudly, "_Bow chicka bow wow._" Before letting him put his hand back over her mouth.

He snickered and gave a small smile. "Did you really pry my hand off just to say _that?_"

Farrah gave a small nod and a muffled, "Mm-hm."

Damian tutted and shook his head. "You're a freak..."

Pulling off his hand again, she retorted, "No, _you_ are!"

Trying not to smile, he rolled his eyes as he covered her mouth again. "_And_ immature."

"_Nn, Oou rre_!"

"_Do_ shut up." He sighed. "You're idiocy is showing... _And stop licking me!_" Her eyes lit up, and he raised a brow. "If you say '_bow chicka bow wow' _again, I _will_ cut out your tongue." The girl's eyes widened, and her jaw went slack a moment before she burst into muffled laughter. Damian raised a brow before pulling off his hand with an exasperated, "What now...?"

She grinned. "I got you ta say '_bow chicka bow wow_', dude, did you _hear_ yerself?! I wish I'd had a recorder-!" He slapped his hand back over her mouth.

"Stop talking." He grunted.

The girl chuckled and smiled cheekily against his palm, but didn't bother trying to talk. For one, it would have been muffled anyways, and for another, well... she was starting to worry that maybe he _would_ act on his threats, and having her tongue cut out didn't sound very fun...

Damian soon figured out that she wasn't planning on talking, and finally took his hand off of her mouth. Farrah barely even noticed, though, preoccupied with staring up at the tall ceilings with an awed look on her face. She really _had_ never seen a place so immaculate and just straight out _fancy_. Hell, the only place she had ever seen with such a high ceiling was her _church_.

"You'll catch flies if you don't shut your mouth." Damian mused. The girl jerked and flinched at the sudden noise, before giving a half-hearted glare.

"_Must_ ya ruin my moment...?" She sighed. "An' where are we goin, anyhow...?"

He stopped in front of a doorless doorway and crossed his arms. "_The bathroom_. Do you have to ask so many stupid questions...?"

"_Oh_." She blinked before adding, "And _yes_, I need ta ask stupid questions. Someone's _always_ gotta ask stupid questions." Giving a mock salute, she trudged into the girls bathroom, and once out of sight of the ever ass-holey Wayne, pulled off the white dress shirt. Luckily, she had a white tank-top underneath, so she wasn't _too_ exposed... And even if she hadn't, she wouldn't have cared much. She really rather lacked most common decencies... something she picked up from growing up with her rough-and-tumble dude friends. Too many days wrestling and tumbling in the mud and all that...

As she was wringing out her hair out into the sink, a girl came in.

It would have been fine, really, if the girl hadn't started _attacking her with her purse_.

Farrah gritted her teeth to keep from yelping, ripping the purse from the girl's grasp with a curse. "The fuck is yer problem?!" The girl didn't reply, instead, she screeched _painfully_ loudly, and started going after Farrah like the redneck had spat on her mother. Which she _didn't_, so Far didn't know _why_ she was being abused like she was!

After a few moments of dodging and blocking the random girl's attempts at clawing her face, Farrah decided she'd had enough, and sweeped the girl's feet from underneath her, and planted a foot on her back to keep her from getting up.

Just as she did that, Damian _fucking_ Wayne leaped in. _Late_. "What on earth is happening?!" And, _get this_, the second he did, the chick underneath Far's boot went from angry screeching to pitiful _wailing_.

"I don't fuckin' know!" Farrah said exasperatedly, rubbing her arm and looking down at the girl, who she recognized as _Julie_, and gave her a look. "An' what in sam hell's in yer purse, lady, mo-fuckin' _bricks?!_"

Julie gave a rather dry sniffle and crawled to Damian's feet. "I-I don't know what I did-I just came in, and-and that _beast_ attacked me!"

He looked at her, and Far gave him an insulted look. "The fuck are you - Do you believe that...? Bo', I was wringin' out my hair when she walked in an' jumped on me like I kicked her grammie's be-hind!"

"_She's lying!_" The girl wailed, clutching Damian's leg.

"_The fuck is going on?!_ What's daggon happenin' 'ere?! _AM I MISSING SOMETHING?!_" She threw her arms in the air and looked at the ceiling. "_Lawd Jesus, w_hat did I do? What's wrong with this place?!"

Damian scowled and picked Julie up by the collar of her jacket and told her dangerously calm, "Get. Out. _Now_." The chick nodded vigorously before running out.

"_WHAT._" Far made several exasperated and confused gestures before freezing up for a moment. She looked at the doorway where Julie had retreated. "You left yer purse...!" She faltered and shook her head. "Forget it."

The boy grimaced as he studied her, and if she didn't know better, she'd say he looked _concerned_. "You're bleeding."

She glanced down at her arms. Four angry red marks ran down her right arm, blood just beginning to inch down her skin. "Well, shit... I jus' can't get a daggon break, can I...?" Anger bubbled in the pit of her stomach, and she punched the stall wall, putting a dent in the metal. Once she did, however, she immediately hissed in pain as she waved her hand in the air. "Oh, _fuck m__e!_ Fuckin' _o__w!_"

"You idiot," Damian scolded shortly as he grabbed her hand and examined it. "Why would you _do_ that?!"

"I was mad an' frustrated!" She bit back, wincing as he prodded her hand. "It was either that er _you_, an' I don't think neither a' us would'a appreciated hittin' you."

He scoffed and smacked her in the back of the head. "You can't punch things just because you're mad!"

"Says who?!" She shot back. "I bet you'd a' done it if you were in my place, too! Hell, if someone attacked you fer _no damn reason_, an' then left before you could hit 'em back, wouldn't _you_ be pissed off, too?!"

"Of course I would! I'm mad _now_, but that doesn't mean I am going to hurt myself for no good reason!" He huffed and flicked her forehead. "You're _lucky_. It will only bruise. You could have had broken fingers, doing that."

"I wouldn't a' given a damn if I had." She grunted. "What the hell was that chick's problem, anyways?"

A grimace crossed his face. "Julie is... bipolar."

"Yeah, no shit!" She snorted.

"Don't interrupt me when I'm talking." He shot her an unamused look before continuing, "She's bipolar, and not the most _mentally stable_ apple in the tree... And... she's a bit obsessed with me."

Farrah's eyebrows shot into her hair. "You said that _so_ straight-faced and serious... Why, _dare I ask_, are you so calm about that...? You _shouldn't!_ That's fuckin'-you-she-fuckin' _girls_, man!" She threw up her arms in exasperation and trudged out.

"You forgot your shirt and jacket." He called. A few moments passed before the girl trudged back in and picked them up, sliding her arms into the wet sleeves before walking back out, muttering under her breath about crazy-ass city slickers and obsessed teenage girls.

Damian raised a brow as she let out a particularly loud '_daggon crazy-ass shit!"_ before shaking his head and jogging out after her.

* * *

By the last period of the day, Farrah was _cold_, _mad_, and, worst of all, _out of coffee_. On the way to the class, she took a wrong turn, and ended up on the _other side of the huge-ass school_. So she had to go all the way back, shivering like a chihuahua, and ended up being late for class.

Luckily, Mrs. Roberts was cool with it. Farrah _was_ new, after all, and it _was_ a big school. Normally, the redneck would have been quite grateful for that, but, well... things weren't exactly going normally. The past two periods, her anger had only boiled and churned as time ticked by, coming off of her in waves so that no one _dared_ try to talk to her.

Mrs. Roberts was quick to notice the young girl's fury, as Far trudged over to her seat and slammed her backpack to the ground. The caped woman raised a brow. "Uh... Ms. Bowman... would you care to have a rant?"

"What?"

"A rant," The woman explained, "Life is stressful. And sometimes, we all just need to let it out, so... every once in a while, when we need it, we'll go up to the front of the class and rant for as long as we need about whatever we want without being judged. It's actually quite healthy, talking about what's wrong... Go up, and talk about every problem that's been bothering you as of late."

She didn't need to say anymore. Farrah stood up and trudged to the front of the class, taking a deep breath before beginning.

"Ya'll best get comfortable." She warned shortly before pinching the bridge of her nose. "You wanna know what's wrong, miss? I'll tell ya what's what. I'm not feelin' my best. I'm either gonna be cold an' _tired_, or cold an' pissed off. Either way, I'm gonna be colder'n a witch's tit in a brass bra in January, 'cause for some _stupid_ reason, a school that's got _three daggon floors_, don't have a simple washing machine, an' 'cause the weather here is _bipolar_ it started rainin' cats an' dogs out a' the blue!"

It occurred to Farrah that it was _really_ quiet, but she didn't dwell on it. "You know what else just _pisses me the hell off_ about this place? The people. Jus' in general. I read the crime report today, and there was three murders and eight rapes. And that's jus' the reported ones! What the-who-how does that happen, an' then the news don't say anythin' at all 'bout the bad stuff; jus' good news all around. This kinda crap, it jus'-it shouldn't happen! Period! You jus' don't _do_ that! I mean, what the _fuck_. The other day I was goin' down the street, walkin' my pups, I nodded an' said hello when I passed, an' you know what they did...?"

No one answered, so the girl answered herself. "Those nine people, _ev'ry single one a' them_, they looked at me like I was gonna pull out a gun or knife and mug 'em! A daggon hundred an' thirty, hundred an' forty pound, short-ass kid, gonna mug 'em! I mean, _what the ever-livin' fuck?!_ When you _walk by someone_, you shouldn't have ta worry about gettin' mugged, because that jus' shouldn't happen! I got attacked. Twice. Three times, if you count my lil' excusrion in school today," She glanced at Mrs. Roberts, who had her mouth open, "An' _no_, I ain't gonna snitch, so don't bother, ma'am. I've been here two, three, maybe four days...? I can't even keep track, I'm so daggon tired... Most a' the people here are fuckin' _mean_, an I'm an affectionate person... I like to hug an' be hugged an' snuggle an' stuff, but I _can't_ 'cause the only people and or dogs I could ain't here for me ta do that to-!"

She held out a hand. "_But wait_, there's more! I'm _hell_ a' homesick. I'm sick a' seein' all this _gray_. Everywhere I look, gray, gray, gray. And the _smell_. It's acidic and rotten, and jus' everywhere I look, every time I breathe in, it jus'... reminds me how far away from home I am." By the end of the sentence, her voice lost its fervor, and her shoulders sank. "I went from knowin' ev'ry blade a' grass, every person, and every buildin' ta... _this_. I can't see the stars anymore... You guys might not understand it, but that-that's important to me. I grew up with 'em, I can name ev'ry constellation there is, I could've traveled to Antarctica using the stars, if I'd wanted ta, but not now..."

"I'm a thousand and one miles away from home. I ain't got pa or mom, don't have lil' Barry, don't have all my friends, not my guitar, not my games, stars, the swamps, the farm, the barn; I ain't got my pop's jacket, I don't even have anymore _coffee_ left, an' I jus'-jus'..." She swallowed thickly, mumbling to the ground, barely even a whisper, to herself, "I think I need a hug..."

She heard a stool screech across the floor, and the next thing she knew, arms were around her and her face was in a shoulder. The girl glanced up and met golden brown eyes.

"I said that ta myself, Willy, you don't _have_ ta hug me..." She mumbled into his jacket.

"I know."

The second he ended that sentence, she relaxed and hugged him back. Then she felt another pair of arms wrap around her.

Then another.

And another.

As the redneck stood at the front of the class, multiple people getting up to join in on the group hug, Damian Wayne sat in the back. He sat there, wondering... just what was it about that strange girl...? What made people who didn't even know her get up and comfort her...? Something about her... something just made people like her. Was it the passion in her voice, was it the contagious dimpled smile, was it the bright, hazel eyes that gave away her emotions like a neon-light sign...? He didn't know. He didn't understand.

And Damian Wayne didn't like not knowing things.

* * *

**Author's note~**

**Hahaha... ha ha... ha... _Yeah_. This is late as balls. I am a dickwad. It took me _way_ longer than it should have to update. I suck. Feel free to throw bricks at me, I would deserve it, yo.**

**SO. Let me take a moment to say I LOVE you guys. Fo' cereal. All you people who've taken the time, just to read this... _this_. It's off to a rough start, I just can't seem to get my thoughts into words if you don't like this, man, thank you for just taking the time to read my lame, weird little story.**

**Let me know if I made any mistakes or anything (other that Far's stupid redneck slang), and as always, I hope my goofy little story made you smile, if just a bit :)**

**Bear with me guys ********ʕ´ᴥ`ʔ**

**********, _Blue_**


	7. Chapter 7

Two weeks passed, and things were starting to look up for Farrah. School became relatively easy once she got caught up. And hell, she had even made a surprising amount of friends! When she followed Damian down the halls, people would smile and wave. It seemed like she made a new friend every other day... but she still mainly hung out with Damian. She didn't really know _why_, really, their whole thing was they would talk, insult each other, he would flick the side of her head sometimes for being an 'imbecile', and repeat.

Except, well, she _did_ know. She just wouldn't admit it out loud...

A day after her rant in art, William had all but jumped on her back as she was heading outside with Damian, all smiles and laughs... The blonde boy had asked her if she wanted to eat with him, and she looked at Damian to see if he was cool with it. She asked him, and I quote, '_I'm gonna chill with Willy, is that awlright, ass-butt?_'

And he said a short yes, and walked out to the tree alone. But that was the thing, see, because she insulted him, and he _didn't insult her back_. Now Farrah, she'd known Damian longer than anyone else in that school, and when he _didn't retort_, then something wasn't quite right. And a thought had occurred to her: she had never seen Damian talk to her like he did with anyone else. Or talk at all, really... He would insult her, yeah, and make fun of her accent, but... he wouldn't make an effort to really talk or walk or anything with anyone other than her, as far as she had seen. But he did with _her_... Maybe, _maybe_ he actually kind of enjoyed her company. And to leave him to hang out with someone else, that was a _shit_ move. And Far didn't like pulling shit moves.

So, she politely changed her mind and jogged out of the cafeteria and to the tree where Damian was. And when he saw her, he _smiled_. Not a smirk. Not that one '_you're an idiot_' twitch up of his lips. A genuine, full-on smile. It wasn't there for very long, but enough for her to see it. And man, that just made her feel all _fuzzy_ inside... She was a sucker for a nice smile, and Damian Wayne had one of the nicest ones she'd ever seen. Maybe it was the fact that they seemed to be so rare, or that she almost had to _work_ for them, or that he was really just rather attractive; either way, she liked them. And that she _really_ didn't like to see him glum. Damian Wayne and the words 'not' and 'insult' didn't mix.

So that was why she was outside, in the biting cold, shivering her ass off as she tried to read a new _Captain America_ comic while chatting with Damian.

"So, you like superheroes?"

Farrah glanced up and flashed the cover at him. "Obviously... Ever since I was jus' young'un," She told him with a small grin. "Never wanted ta _be_ one, though."

He raised a brow. "Really...? What child didn't want to be a superhero?"

"_This_ one." She pointed to herself, repressing another wave of shivers as a cold breeze ran through her. "I dunno, I've always been a lil' odd, y'know...? I've just always thought that bein' a hero would be so _difficult_, an' _painful_... Jus' not really worth all the pain an' sorrow an' stuff."

"Do you still think that today?"

"Yeah," She admitted, "Yeah, I do. I mean, look at Batman, an' Superman, an' all the other guys. They do all that work, an' go through all that pain, fer _what?_ " She shook her head before licking her finger and turning a page. "Hell, I used ta think that Batman, all the superheroes in general, were fake - did'ja know that? Somethin' the government made up an' endorsed ta inspire us ta be the best we can be. I know better now, an' I think those people who do it are commendable an' stuff, but still... No, I wouldn't wanna a superhero. I ain't outstandin'ly smart or clever. I'm pretty fit-I can run for a long time, but not fast enough. I'm below average, strength-wise, an' that's bein' _generous_. I hit hard, but not _near_ quick enough. An' let's be honest here, I ain't got the best moral compass when it comes ta mercy like Batman. It would jus' be unwise ta try ta do it, I knew that even when I was knee-high ta a grasshopper... Nothin' ta aspire ta become."

Damian raised a brow at the girl. "You truly are strange."

"I know," She hummed, shrugging a single shoulder. "But _everyone's_ weird in their own way. Some jus' choose not ta show it."

The boy scoffed and shook his head before standing up, taking off his jacket and throwing it at her face. "Well, come on."

Farrah looked up, pulling the jacket off of her head, head cocked to the side in curiosity. "What, where we goin', Dami? We've still got a ways ta go 'till lunch ends... An' put yer coat back on 'fore you catch yer death, ass-butt!"

"You're cold." He rolled his eyes. "I'm getting sick of your shivering, Bowman: it's annoying. Put it on, and we can go back inside."

"Damn right I'm cold," She replied, ignoring his command as she threw his jacket back, "But that don't mean I'm gonna steal yer coat. I'm fine with goin' in, but put that jacket back on."

The boy grunted, throwing it over his shoulder rather than putting it on. "I'm not cold. Now hurry up."

"I'm goin', I'm goin'," She muttered, picking herself up off the ground, "Don't hurry me... I'll take as much time as I want, Wayne."

"You'll _really_ be taking your time when you're _dead_, Bowman." He shot back.

"_You'll_ be takin' yer time when I whip yer daggon hide." She shot back, lightly pushing his shoulder with a grin. "Any who, let's get outta here, I'm freezin' my tits off."

Damian snorted, but didn't comment.

The two walked in the cafeteria, only to see a small crowd, and, get this, the pleasant surprise of eyes _not_ on them. Farrah grinned and nudged Damian, jerking her head towards the crowd. "Would'ja look at _that_. They finally stopped starin'."

The boy nudged her back. "Why does it bother you so much when they do?"

Farrah faltered. "Uh..." She rubbed the back of her neck. "I don't rightly know, ta be honest. I jus'... don't like it, I reckon. Makes me feel self-conscious an' stuff..."

"Why would you be self-conscious in the first place?" He asked incredulously.

She shrugged. "I dunno, I just sorta _am_. I know I'm not _too_ terrible ta look at, but-"

"'_Too terrible_'?" He quoted with a scoff. "Are you fishing for sympathy, Bowman...?"

"'Ey, this is some deep stuff, Wayne, I don't appreciate you _makin' fun a' me_..." She faltered and stopped. "I-wait..." An eyebrow raised as she pulled a mini Reese's cup from her pocket, and she asked him suspiciously , "Are you implyin' somethin'...?"

Damian rolled his eyes. "I don't know, _am_ I...?"

The girl nudged his side. "No, really... Are you?"

"Do you want to spell it out for you?" He asked dryly. She nodded as she popped the Reese's into her mouth, and he snorted. "You are attractive. The fact that you are self-conscious is completely _idiotic_."

Farrah choked and gagged on the chocolate as she tripped over her feet. She _would_ have fallen flat on the ground, but Damian grabbed her collar before she could. She (just barely) managed to swallow her candy before giving him a disbelieving look. "You just... am I goin' crazy? Did you just say I was...?"

"Attractive? Yes." He gave her a look. "Don't act stupid, you _know_ you are."

She blinked. "I... I am...?" He didn't reply, and a goofy grin crossed her face.

At her silence, Damina glanced back, only to heave an exasperated sigh and slap his palm to his forehead. "No. _No_. _Don't do that_." She cocked her head in question, but still had that stupid smile on her face. "That idiotic, dimpled grin of yours. _Stop it_. Stop doing it. That's an _order_."

"Oh, so yer orderin' me around, now?" She chuckled, smile still there. "What if I ignore yer order, then, Wayne...?"

The boy inspected his fingernails. "Then I'll cripple you."

Far laughed as they neared the doors leading out of the cafeteria, only to stagger forward as a weight hit her back. "What in sam hell-!?" She raised her arms, expecting to get hit, only to find arms _still_ wrapped around her middle. The girl shared a bewildered look with Damian as she stood there awkwardly, trying to turn to see who was hugging her and why. "Uhh... Y'alright, person...?" Farrah heard a sniffle, and immediately freaked out. "Oh _shit_, are you okay?! Did-did I do somethin' bad-did I hurt ya er somethin'?! _Shit_, I am so fuckin' sorry, I-!"

"You saved me." The voice sniffled gratefully into her shoulder.

"... Say what now...?" Far asked dumbfoundedly, angling herself to get a look at her hugger, catching sight of familiar red plaid; and then it clicked. "Oh... _Oh!_" The redneck jumped and turned, taking a good look at a vaguely - not really all that familiar face. "You...!"

The girl nodded and gave a watery smile.

"Yer-holy shit!" Far threw her arms in the air and made various hand motions before picking the smaller, brunette girl up into the air with a broad grin. "You lil' shit!" She laughed, "Never thought I'd see _you_ again! Holy Hell, I - How are you, are you okay?!"

"Thanks to you!" The girl grabbed Farrah's hand and shook it gratefully. "I'm Allie, and you saved my life... I had to go to therapy for a while, but it's better that than _dead_."

"I _did_, didn't I?!" She beamed and grabbed the girl's shoulders. "Hot damn, I'm glad you turned out awlright, sugar! I'm Farrah, and I'm gonna be honest: I was startin' ta think that all that mess was one whacked out _dream_."

The girl, Allie, shook her head and hugged the girl again. "_It wasn't_."

Farrah shot Damian a grin and pointed at the girl, a '_holy shit, look, I did something good for once!_' look etched on her face. He gave an approving nod in response, and she beamed. Allie pulled away, and started... unbuttoning the jacket...? The redneck held her arms out. "_Woah_, uh... I'm not in ta you like that, sorry..."

The girl gave Far an odd look before undoing the last button and handing her father's jacket back to her.

"Oh... oh yeah." A sheepish grin crossed her face as she clutched the plaid coat in her hands. "Right, sorry... But hey, you sure yer awlright...?"

Allie nodded and smiled. "Are _you_ alright? That... _man_, he hurt you pretty bad... _Your eye_..."

The girl lightly prodded her fading black eye and shrugged. "Meh, no biggie... I'm jus' glad yer awlright. _Shi-ot_..." Allie shot a cautious, yet curious look at Damian, who was still hanging around, and Farrah decided that it was time to go. "Well, it was good ta meet you, Miss. Stay outta alleys from now on, you hear?"

She nodded, and gave the freckled girl a tentative smile before turning and walking back into the cafeteria.

Farrah looked back at the boy besides her and grinned. "What'd I tell ya, Wayne? _Told_ you I'm not loopy..."

"I never said you were." He reminded her, glancing back at the lunchroom. "It appears as though you've just brought everyone's attention _right back to you_."

"What now...?" She turned and looked, only to groan as she met several pairs of eyes. "_Goddamnit._ Can't I jus' get a break...?"

Damian rolled his eyes and tutted. "If you don't want their attentions, then stop attracting it."

"I _don't!_"

"Yes," He countered, "You do. You talk loudly, and more than that, your accent is obvious and stands out above a crowd."

She nudged his arm. "'Ey, I can't help that... 'S not _my_ fault that y'all city folk're all hushity-hush an' whispers when you talk, like yer scared a monster'll come an' eat ya if yer too loud.""

"You know this is _Gotham City_, you're talking about, right?" Damian snorted. "One just _may_, in this town..."

"Oooh, _ominous_." She tried to say with a straight face. She lasted around five seconds before cracking a smile and rolling her eyes. "Come on... this place is bad, but it ain't '_I might get eaten_' bad."

"Is it?"

She faltered. "I dunno, _is_ it...? You've been here longer'n me, Wayne, _you_ of all people should know..." He didn't reply, and the girl found her palms sweating as he walked past her, completely silent. "_Is _it?!" He still ignored her. "_Wayne!_"

* * *

"He never answered me." Farrah grumbled to herself, kicking a rock on the asphalt. Ari paused from sniffing a pole, and glanced up at the girl in question. She gave a wry smile and ran her fingers over the dog's snout. "Nothin', Ari. Jus' talkin' ta myself... You an' Thor hurry up so we can go in. I'd hate to get my butt kicked again, an' if that _does_ happen tonight, I'm throwin' you two at the guys as bait." Thor glanced up and gave a quiet grunt, cocking his head to the side. Far chuckled at the vocal dog and waved him to the pole. "Would you jus' do yer business...?"

It was late, just over nine, and dark. She most certainly did _not_ want a repeated beating. Her bruises were mostly faded now, she didn't really feel like having fresh ones...

The smaller dog gave a playful growl and began to gnaw on his new leash, and Farrah grunted in disapproval. "_No_. Ya gotta have that, bud, sorry... You end up gettin' me in trouble when you ain't on it." The dog didn't reply, and she glanced down at the dog, only to freeze.

Thor stood a meter away, tail swishing back and forth, an almost _smug_ look on his face as he stood there, having slipped out of his collar.

"_No_." She held out her arms cautiously, taking care not to make any sudden movements so not to make him think they were playing. "Thor, come'ere. Thor, come'ere _now_. I ain't playin', boy..." But _he_, apparently, was. The dog gave a happy bark before taking off, and Farrah cursed as she and Ari ran after him. "_I HATE YOU!_"

She chased after him, running for _who knows how long_, until the dog slid to a stop and turned into an alley. Farrah's shoulders immediately slumped as she looked around. She didn't know _where_ she was, but it didn't look very ideal... and her _stupid-ass_ dog had run into another _stupid-ass_, ominous, dark as hell alley. Farrah looked up at the starless sky and asked silently, "_God, why do you hate me?_" before trudging into the alley.

It was longer than she had anticipated, and she didn't hear Thor barking anymore...

The young dog's yelp and cruel laughs resonated throughout the alley, and Far broke into a sprint as fury bubbled in her stomach. All logical thought left her head as she caught sight of Thor, backed against a wall and garbage bin by a man, and slammed her shoulder into his chest, sending him flying. Another guy grabbed her and pulled her into a headlock, only to get bit on the leg by both Ari and Thor, and let her go with a snarl.

Farrah shoved the guy back and cursed as she took in her surroundings. Six people... _six_. She had only just taken in the number when they all jumped on her. She only just managed to scream at Thor and Ari to _stay_, before getting pulled into a scuffle.

There was a mass of bodies and limbs, all striking out at her. It hurt... but she ignored it for the time being, and did her best to fight back.

She got a few of them pretty good, but... she just couldn't take on _all_ of them. Her heart slammed repeatedly against her chest, and she was sure they were able to hear and see it, as two each of them grabbed her arms, holding her as the rest of them dusted off.

Blood dripped from her nose and down her face, and she could taste blood (though that may have been from her nose). A small cut lay just above her left brow, and made her vision in that eye blur.

A man, the leader, she presumed, with a surprisingly attractive face and goatee grabbed her chin and forced her face up so he could look at her. He spit blood onto her face when he realized she was a girl. "Who d'you think you are, kid? Tryin' to pick a fight with _us?_ Over a _dog?!_"

"He's _my_ dog." She spat back, "An' I _swear_, if you ever touch him again..."

The man smirked and pulled out a gun, a PPK, and pointed it at Thor, who whined and trembled in place.

Farrah's heart stopped. Several gunshots and loud, agonized yelps from both her dogs screamed in her ears, and she snapped.

Red flooded her vision and adrenaline pumped through her veins. She ripped her arms out of her holders' grips, leaping on the man with a vicious, animalistic snarl as tears flooded her eyes. She couldn't think. She couldn't stop, as she slammed the back of the man's head against the sidewalk, curses spilling out of her mouth like prayers. Hell, she couldn't even _breathe_, as arms tried and failed to rip her off of the man, and faint whimpers fueled her rage as she stained the cement with blood.

It finally took all of the group's combined efforts to rip Farrah off of him, and she still fought them the entire time.

"_Batsards!_" She snarled. "I'll kill ev'ry last one a' ya! I won't even give ya the right ta a proper burial - Y'all will sit an' _rot_, as flies come an' eat ya from the _inside out!_ Fuckin' _cowards! Swine!_ Tear all a' ya ta shreds! I'll-_gnnk!_" She got cut off as the leader staggered up and slammed a heavy fist to her stomach.

He looked disoriented, faint, and _unbelievably_ pissed off. "The only one who's dyin' here tonight it _you_, sweetheart..."

The girl simply bared her teeth at him, a minute warning, before using the men who were gripping her as leverage to lift herself up off of the ground and kick him square in the chest, sending the man to the ground a few yards away.

Unfortunately, though, he landed next to a wooden plank... it might have had nails in it, it might not have: she didn't get enough time to look before he began beating her with it. Either way, it hurt. A lot. But she didn't focus on that... she focused on trying to block it, occasionally succeeding and feeling a small, _small_ satisfaction when she would hit him back, and doing her best not to make noises of pain.

The man got a good, solid strike at her side, and... she couldn't hold it in. A raw, strangled cry escaped her lips as her face twisted in pain. She was pretty sure that had cracked a rib or two... A few of them laughed, and she couldn't help but think between the abuse; _Damian had been right_. Gotham was full of monsters. Maybe not the furry or scaly kind, but monsters nonetheless...

_She hoped her father wouldn't blame himself or Charlie over this..._

After a couple of minutes, he seemed to have gotten tired of beating her with the plank, and alternated to punching her for a while, before finally pulling out his gun and shoving the barrel against her throat. "It's a shame," he mused, "I had to ruin such a pretty face..."

Breathing hurt. She could barely keep her eyes open, they were swollen so bad. She was far-fetched to find something that _didn't_ hurt... But still, she rasped, "I hope you burn in a hole, shit-head..."

Before the man could react, a net slammed into him and threw him a ways down the alley and lit up with bright blue sparks, making the man spasm as he screamed in agony. The rest of the group let her go and looked around bewilderedly.

Though they had let her go, the fight had melted out of her, and she slid down the wall and onto the ground as she tried not to breathe too deeply to prevent any more pain. Thor and Ari sprawled out on the ground a yard away, whining softly as they tried to lick their wounds.

"You could have gone without electrocuting him, you know." A voice rasped out as one of the men suddenly dropped to the ground.

"_I could have thrown a batarang at his face like I wanted to, you know._" A younger, vaguely familiar voice grunted as another hit the deck. The remaining three took off, and two shapes dropped from the sky and in front of Farrah.

"Shall we go after them?" The smaller of the two asked, cracking his knuckles as he watched the rest flee.

"Not today, Robin." The larger faced Farrah and walked over, kneeling down in front of her. "We have bigger, more important problems." Pointy-eared, glowing white eyes, the black cape... _Batman_.

Batman moved to pick Farrah up, or maybe help her, but she weakly pushed him back, voice slurring. "_No_... 'M fine... Help th' mutts... they got shot... need... more help'n I do..." He must have thought she was delirious or something because he tried to lift her again, only to, _no surprise_, get pushed away once more, though this time with a bit more force. "_Ari n' Thor._" She gasped as pain bounced around in her chest, staying firm as she looked over at the dogs. Ari, poor, beautiful Ari, looked at her with mournful blue eyes as her tail gave a single _thump_. '_I'm sorry_.' Her eyes seemed to say. '_I would get up and lick you better, but I can't_.' Farrah looked firmly into her savior's eyes. "They... They're more... more important. _Them_ first... I ain't... ain't goin' nowhere..."

The man stared back a few seconds before straightening with a sigh and turning away for a moment before walking over to where her dogs lay, carefully picking Ari up. "Robin, can you-"

"-Get the girl?" The boy wonder heaved a sigh, but gave a curt nod. "I _suppose_ I could..."

Farrah let her eyes close for a moment, as it required more effort to keep them open than she was willing to give, and when they opened again, a sleek, shiny black vehicle was in front of her. The _Batmobile_. "How...?"

Robin, who was now crouched in front of her, held out his arms impatiently. "Would you stop gawking and come here, already...?"

She blinked groggily and shook her head in an attempt to clear it, only to immediately regret it and grimace. "_Shit_..." The girl could _feel_ Robin's condescending look, and did her best to shake it off before grabbing one of his hands. "I can walk... Jus'... jus' help me up."

"You and your pride," The boy wonder sighed exasperatedly, but complied with her command and pulled her up like she was a rag doll. "Come on, then."

Farrah took one step. _One_... before he swooped her up into his arms. The redneck glared at him. "I am... 'm _not_ an object, I can daggon walk... My legs... my legs ain't broke... Jus' a lil' sore."

"_Do_ shut up." Robin sighed as he set her in the back seat next to Ari, and hopped in the passenger seat. "And try not to bleed too much on the seats..."

Batman came back with Thor, and Far made a grabby-hands motion for the mutt. "Give 'im ta me... I'll hold him... he dun like ridin' in cars, 'less I hold him." The man didn't look too certain, but gave the dog to her anyways. Thor shifted in her lap and looked up at her with sad gray eyes, groaning in complaint. Farrah shushed the dog quietly as Ari squirmed closer while the engine hummed lowly.

Thor gave a low whine, and the girl frowned. "I'm sorry, bud... there ain't... ain't nothin' I can do..." She let her head fall back against the seat and sighed, just a _bit_ delirious as she mumbled to them. "I reckon I jinxed us, guys... Shouldn't a'... said all that stuff 'bout throwin' you as bait... didn' mean it... you know I'd never do that..." Her eyes slid closed as Ari licked her palm. "Guess I done goofed..." She muttered as her mind emptied into oblivion.

* * *

She awoke in a bit of a daze. Tired, sore, her throat was drier than hell, and it hurt to breathe...? Not to mention the fact that she was being _man-handled_.

"'Ey, lemme go..." She mumbled. "I can... I can _walk_..."

A vaguely familiar masked face leered down at her. "_Please_ shut up."

Farrah grunted in response, looking around, only to have her jaw drop. She suddenly didn't feel so groggy. Her thoughts were still a bit sluggish, though... "_Holy_... is that a T-rex...?" Robin didn't reply, instead, he set her down on a table as she took in the sights. Stalactites, a huge-ass penny on a pedestal, a giant _Joker_ playing card, and all sorts of gadgets laid around. "Am I... Am I in the _Batcave?_" She shook her head in disbelief. "Where's a camera when ya need one...?"

"If you _did_, it would be promptly broken." The boy wonder informed her. "And I have your phone, by the way..." He set it besides her and leaned against the table she sat on. "_Now_, would you like to explain just _what_ you were doing...?"

"You saw," She answered dryly as she picked up her phone, unconsciously wiping away finger marks. "Where's... Batman?" She faltered as a thought hit her, and she jerked up, only to wince. "_Where's my babies?!_"

Robin snorted and looked at her like she was stupid as he put a hand on her shoulder to keep her from trying to get up again. "Getting the bullets out of their hides... and _stop trying to get up_." He scolded irritably, "We don't know the extent of your injuries, and you could be making them worse!"

"You wanna know?" She tried to inhale deeply, only to wince. "I'm pretty sure I got some bruised or cracked ribs... Hurts like _hell_. Maybe some internal bleedin'... Definitely some internal _bruisin_', and... maybe-maybe a slight concussion. Maybe... not too sure as of yet... And my nose is broke..."

"And you would know this, _how_...?"

The girl grunted. "I get hurt a lot... Not on purpose, but... still... Ya pick up on some stuff. I know how to fix a dislocated arm... Speakin' a' which, fix my nose for me...?" He gave her a bewildered look, and she stuttered to explain. "I-I mean, I _could_ do it, but... I jus'... don't like to. It's the same with givin' shots... Ya jus' gotta grab it an'-"

"I know how to do it." He cut her off. He put grabbed her nose, trying to ignore her grimace of pain. "On three... One..." _CRACK!_

Curses spilled out of her mouth as blood poured from her nose and all over the front of her shirt. "God fuckin' damnit!" She squeaked, "You said on _three_, not _one!_" She tried to curl into a ball, only to wince and curse some more. "_FUCK!_"

"You would have been expecting it, then," He muttered as he materialized a rag seemingly from mid-air and pulled her hands away, wiping away some of the blood from her face before putting it over her nose. "Stop whining..."

"Don't tell me what ta-" She stopped as she smelled the towel. "-'Ey, this sorta smells like chlorof_-ohhh_..." A look of betrayal crossed her face before she blacked out, and the boy wonder grabbed her to keep from slamming to table.

Robin looked around for a moment before heaving a sigh and sitting on the table next to her, flinching as her head fell against his shoulder. "You're an idiot, Bowman..." He sighed, completely unfazed when her blood dripped on his shoulder.

It wasn't until Batman came out with a knocked-out and bandaged Thor did the Boy Wonder all but _leap_ away, only to have the unconscious girl crash to the ground. Robin winced. She was probably going to feel that later... _Whoops_.

Batman set the dog on the table and gave his sidekick a look, as the younger boy picked up the girl sprawled out on the ground, cheeks dusted with pink. "Did you _need_ to chloroform her...?"

"She knows Alfred, father." He reminded him shortly. "She never fails to talk with him everyday after school... she would have recognized him. Plus," He added dryly, "She was annoying me."

The man smirked. "She must not have been _that_ annoying, seeing how you let her snuggle up to you like that..."

"She was _unconscious_." He defended, cheeks darkening a bit as he glared at Batman. "I wasn't going to _throw her on the ground_, just for falling against me!"

"Mm-hmm..."

Robin scowled. "Kindly _shut up_..."

The man laughed and ruffled the boy's hair. "I'm just playing..."

"It's not _funny_." He shot back, lightly pushing the man's shoulder.

* * *

"_Ugh_..." Farrah groaned, trying to open her eyes only to yelp and stop. "Ow, ow, _ow_..."

Charlie's voice hushed the girl gently, and she felt the man put something cold over her swollen eyes. "Take it easy, Farrah..."

"Where am I, Cap...?" She asked weakly.

"Home." He answered quietly. "Don't worry... you-you're safe now..."

"'M not worried 'bout that... I was gonna ask if Thor an' Ari are-"

"They're fine." Charlie assured her. "Healing, just like you are... They're actually on the bed with you - _don't_ try to sit up and see them," He warned her as she moved to sit up, "You're probably real-"

"_Fuck shit_." She grunted, as she pulled the ice pack off of her face and peeked her eyes open despite the pain, spotting the two dogs sleeping by her legs but freezing with fear. The bright yellow eyes of Griffin, who was sitting on her chest, stared at her. She held up her hand cautiously, wincing as she did so, to shield her face should the cat try to attack her.

Much to her surprise, the cat leaned forward and put his forehead against the palm of her hand, a quiet purr rumbling from his chest.

Tentatively, afraid of doing something wrong, she ran her fingers lightly over the top of the sandy cat's head, who only purred louder. She glanced unsurely at Charlie, who smiled reassuringly and gave her a small thumbs up. "It's okay, he won't he hurt you..."

"Bullshit." She breathed, letting a small smile cross her lips as she lightly stroked the cat's head. "But anyways, Cap', how long was I out...?"

The man hummed and pursed his lips. "A little over a day. And that-that's not counting the time before Batman and Robin came and dropped you off..." Charlie gave a tentative smile. "They said... said you should invest in some pepper spray... Well, _Batman_ said invest in some pepper spray, Robin said you should get a good knife..."

Farrah tried to laugh, only to wince and groan in pain. "Y'know, I actually brought one of a' mom's knives with me... I seriously considered bringin' it with me, but I didn't... guess I should a', huh?"

"Perhaps..." He faltered. "And did you say one of your _mother's_ knives...?"

"Yep." She mumbled as she leaned back into her bed, still petting Griffin. "She has a knife collection. It's pretty nifty, Cap'. She has a medieval _flail_. Nearly killed myself tryin' ta play with it... Boy, was she mad I got blood on it..."

Charlie gave her a bewildered look. "Your mother got mad at you for getting blood on her flail...?" He asked incredulously. "She... was-wasn't worried?!"

"Nah... My mom knows better'n that," The girl waved a hand dismissively, closing her eyes and putting the ice pack back on them. "I've had way worse'n that. I fell down a mountain once, did ya know that...?"

His eyes widened. "Who-_Who does that?_ How?!"

She gave a sheepish grin. "Oh, we were up in the northern-er part of Georgia, hikin' on one a' the mountains, and I started runnin' down the mountain 'cause I was impatient ta get ta the next 'un - it had a waterfall - an' I sorta... slipped...?" She shrugged a shoulder and bit back a hiss of pain. "_Anyways_... I tumbled, flipped, an' slid the rest a' the way down. My legs an' elbows-mostly my legs-looked like bloody hamburger." She mused. "An' I got blood all up in my boots... Pa threw 'em out. I loved those durn things, an' he jus' _threw 'em out_..."

Charlie stared at her, his face a mix between disbelief and amusement. "You... you're... _wow_."

"Y'know," Farrah smiled, "I get that quite a lot... Oh, and uh... You didn' tell pops about this whole... _this_," She gestured to herself, "Did ya...?"

"Not yet, why..?" He asked quizzically.

"Good. _Don't_." She told him. "I don't want him ta worry 'bout me..." He didn't respond, so after a few minutes, the girl asked, "Hey Cap, you ever wanted ta be a superhero...?"

* * *

**Author's note~**

**HOLY FUCKIN SHIT, I got 32 reviews, 22 follows and 16 flippin' faves! How did THAT happen?! Shoosh...**

**For cereal, guys... Thanks for all the support. I just recently got this new game, Terraria, and I've been neglecting the HELL out of this story. Well, all of my stories, technically... I can't help it, yo, it's so much _fun_. But uh... I'm not here to rant about that, I'm here to say... While I don't know _why_ you put up with my crap, you do, and I... It means the world to me.**

**School's gonna be over soon, so hopefully that'll mean I'll update quickly-er. Hopefully.**

**Next up, a bed-ridden gets a visit, and Charlie starts acting... suspicious. But hey, sleep over! WOO!**

**Let me know if I made any mistakes in here, and as always, I hope my goofy little story made you laugh, if just a bit...**

******Try to bear with me guys ********ʕ´ᴥ`ʔ**

**************, _Blue_**


	8. Chapter 8

"I'm so _bored_." Farrah groaned. "_So_ bored... Sooo booooorrrred!~" Thor gave the girl a look, and she raised her arms in defense. "Hey, don't get mad at me, what do you expect...? I've been laying in this bed for _three_ days. _Days!_ That's the most time I've ever spent in bed, ever."

"Even when you were sick...?"

"Shoot yeah, Dami." She sighed to the ceiling. "I'd still go ta school when I had a bug, you kiddin'...? I wouldn't miss school for a little cold..." The girl blinked before jerking up, wincing before a goofy grin crossed her face. "_Damian!_"

Damian's lips twitched up as he walked over, still in school uniform with his backpack thrown over his shoulder. "Hello to you, too. I heard you got your ass kicked."

A sheepish grin crossed her face. "Yeah, jus' a bit... lost my temper, is all..."

"Hardly a 'bit'." He snorted, leaning down and lightly tracing his fingers over her still swollen eye, stopping once she winced. "You're an idiot, Bowman."

"Love ya, too, Wayne." She gave a cheeky smile before raising a brow. "An' hey, does Charlie even know that yer here...?"

"Yes, I do." Farrah blinked and looked over at her doorway, which Charlie was leaning against with his arms crossed. "He called me this morning, demanding to know if anything had happened to you."

"Aww, you _do _care!" The girl teased. Damian shot her a look and tutted but didn't retort... It probably had something to do with the fact her uncle was there.

"A-anyways," Charlie continued, fiddling with his hands, "We made a bit of a... deal. He-he wanted to make sure y-you were alright, s-s-so he's going to stay h-here to-to make sure you were okay for the night, while I-I go out..."

She studied the man suspiciously. "You're goin' out ta have sex ain't ya...?"

The man's face turned bright red, face appalled. "_Farrah!_"

"You _are!_"

He covered his face while Damian snickered amusedly. "I-I am _not_ going to-to do _that!_"

"I'm pretty sure you are..." She sang, grinning as the man turned and all but sprinted out.

"I-I'm _not!_" Charlie yelled back. "I'll b-be back tomorrow morning!"

Farrah gave a knowing look to Damian. "He's totally goin' ta have sex."

"You just have _no_ shame, do you...?" The boy smirked as she gave a small shrug. "And since Charles has fled the room, I suppose I should tell you that your XBox came in, as well as all your games."

Her eyes lit up. "Well, what're you waitin' for; _Jesus_? Bring that sucker in an' hook her up!"

"Don't tell me what to do." He shot back, quoting the girl's saying before dropping his backpack to the ground and walking out.

Thor took the quiet moment to crawl closer to the Farrah's head and lay his head on her chest, giving a questioning whine. Farrah smiled fondly as she rubbed the pup's ear, silently checking on his other ear, which had had a chunk ripped out by one of the bullets. "Yeah, yer my lil' bud." She cooed quietly. "I wish you'd listen ta me more, though... We wouldn't be in this mess if it weren't for you."

"What _did_ happen to you, anyways?"

She jumped in surprise, only to curse. "_Shit_, could you _please_ some noise when you walk?!"

"Sorry." He didn't look all that apologetic, as he strolled over to her small TV and started hooking up her Xbox. "And you didn't answer my question."

Farrah made a face but held back an insult. "Erm... well... I was out, walkin' the mutts, lettin' 'em do their business an' such, when Thor," She shot a glare to said dog before continuing, "done went an' got out a' his collar 'fore takin' off, an' a' course I had ta go after the daggon pup." The XBox's familiar _ding_ came from her TV, and a grin crossed Farrah's face as she made the grabby-hands for one of the controllers. "Story time later, I got a date with technology."

He put the controller _just_ out of her reach before pulling it back and giving her a look. "It can wait. Now continue."

She heaved a sigh and looked at the ceiling, as though it would help her somehow. When it didn't, the girl scooted over a bit and patted her bed. Once Damian sat down, she gave him a look. "You realize how cruel this is, right...? This _whole_ time, I've been layin' here, hopin' an' prayin' for my XBox so I could play, an' now that it's here, you won't let me..."

His eyes flashed with anger, and he scowled. "Do you want to know what '_cruel_' is...? Cruel is when I have to to sit alone for three day, needlessly worrying about some _redneck_ that doesn't seem to have an _ounce_ of self-preservation. Cruel is when someone I had assumed was my friend gets hurt and doesn't even bother to _text me_ that she had gotten hurt! _Cruel_ is when I have to learn that the best friend I have in that pathetic excuse for a school was _mugged_ over the goddamn telephone by her uncle! I-!"

"Okay, okay, I get it," She told him apologetically, putting a hand on his arm. "I'm sorry... You're right, I should'a called ya or texted ya... I didn't think 'bout..." She faltered. "Well, okay, that's a lie, I _did_ think about it, but I jus' didn't think you'd care right much."

Before he could cut her off with an insulted and angry retort, she quickly started telling her story.

The girl did her best to make the whole thing seem... not as bad as it really was. But no matter what way she put it, it _was_ bad. Really bad... Damian stayed silent throughout the whole thing, surprisingly enough. Even when she mentioned that she _may_ or _may not_ have nearly killed the guy that shot her pups. Even when she quietly admitted that she had _wanted_ to kill him, that that had been what she was _trying_ to do, before they ripped her off.

When she got around to the part where he had started beating her with the plank of wood, he stayed quiet. He looked pretty pissed, but he didn't talk... And Farrah really appreciated that, because around that part, she found herself fighting to get the words out. She didn't like admitting that it had hurt... For one, it made her insides twist uncomfortably, and another, she just didn't like to make people worry or anything...

By the end, the guy wouldn't even look her in the _eye_. That was a pretty red flag, and Far frowned as she nudged his arm. "'Ey, c'mon, now, none a' this..." She tried to meet his eyes and her brows came together when she saw a flash of guilt. "It's not like you had anythin' ta do with it. Don't you dare feel a lick a' guilt, there's nothin' you could a' done."

Damian tutted as he averted his eyes and looked around her room. Various comics and wrinkled shirts laid scattered around, and a few posters were taped to her wall. "You're ridiculous, Bowman..."

She simply shrugged at the accusation and scooted over a bit more so he would have more room before reaching for the extra controller in his hand with one arm and patting the spot next to her with the other. "I won't agree nor deny that statement... Now, we had ourselves a deal...?"

The edges of his lips twitched up, and he dropped the controller into her waiting hand before getting comfortable on her small bed.

"So what are we playin', Wayne...?" The girl asked as she rubbed Ari's leg with her foot.

"SwordWalkers."

She blinked. "The first one...?" He gave a curt nod, and she grinned. "I love you, Dami. You know that, right...? Ya read my mind, bo'."

* * *

"_You_, sir," Farrah grumbled, tongue sticking out of her mouth as she dodged a bomb and lost a good chunk of health, "Are a _cheat_."

"Am not," Damian countered with a smirk. "It's not _my_ fault you choose swords over guns. Of _course_ you're going to die so much; it's _logic_. Guns are better in a fight, logically."

"Guns don't need any daggon skill!" She shot back with a scowl. "Any idjit can use a gun if they try; _I'm_ the perfect example a' that!"

He raised a brow. "You've fired a gun before...?"

"_Yeah_." She looked at him like he was an idiot. "_Huntin'_, remember...? I hunt. Got myself a ten pointer a year back. Have the rack hangin' up at home... I'm a pretty damn-good shot, too, if I do say so myself."

With a snort, he gave her a look. "I'm surprised you didn't wind up shooting yourself..."

The girl blinked, and a sheepish look crossed her face before she looked at her feet. "_Well_..."

A smirk twitched from his lips. "You didn't."

She blushed. "I kinda, sorta, maybe did... in a way." Rubbing her neck, she gave an embarrassed smile as he snickered. "It jammed, an' I pointed it down while I looked at it, an' it sorta... went off...? Blew a hole in my shoe. I was lucky... it jus' skimmed me; I could a' lost my toes."

"You truly are _something_." He told her dryly. "I'm surprised you're not dead yet..."

"Me, too!" She agreed with a small laugh, "Did you know that I fell in a gater-filled swamp, not once, not twice - but _six times_. And the most recent time, there was a nine, ten foot gater lickin' his chops while he stared at me the whole time!"

Damian barked a laugh, imagining the redneck panic as she screeched and scrambled to get back in her boat. "Your insane!"

Farrah grinned. "Naw, Wayne, I'm perfectly sane... 's not like I _want_ this stuff ta happen, it jus' _does_. I have the _worst_ fuckin' luck, it's ridiculous!"

He raised a brow as he grinned back. "It is, indeed."

While he was distracted, Far took the chance to stab Damian's character in the back. The second he went down she literally _screamed_ with victory, throwing her arms in the air despite a sharp stab of pain from her side, whooping loudly. "_I got you!_ Suck my tit, dickwad!" She gave a laugh that bordered on being manic as she wiggled in place, doing a little jig in her spot.

The boy blinked as he looked incredulously at the screen. And, sure enough, a little one was by her name on the corner of the screen. "Huh..." He chewed on the inside of his lip before smirking. "Okay, you got me... Now it's thirty-four to _one_, now, instead of thirty-four to zero. _Congratulations._.."

She laughed as she nudged his side as she continued the game. "Always gotta ruin my fun, huh?"

He smirked back as he nudged her in return. "But of _course_, Bowman."

She gave a rather unladylike snort as she grinned. "Ever the gentleman, too... _Day-um_... How do the ladies ever resist yer '_little shit_' charm...?"

"They don't." He replied cheekily. "Ever."

"Oh?" The girl chuckled, "Then what about lil' ol' me...? How come _I_ can?"

"You can't." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. "Admit it, Bowman. You can't resist me."

Farrah didn't know _how_ he could say that with a straight face, because _she_ for one, could only just barely fight off a fit of giggles. "If anythin', _you_ can't resist _me_. You know I'm hot."

Damian snorted as he fought off a smile. "Oh, sure... I can _barely_ hold back my teenage hormones. The black eye and split lip really suits you..."

She struck a dramatic pose. "It does, doesn't it."

He laughed as she wiggled her tongue at him. "You're a freak."

"An' yet yer layin' on my bed with me, takin' care of me." Farrah teased, only to falter and add, "Bow chicka bow wow."

Rolling his eyes, Damian lightly elbowed her stomach. "Speaking of taking care of you; do you need anything? Something to drink or eat...?"

"Aww, you _do_ care!" Farrah said jokingly. He rolled his eyes and gave her a look, and she gave an apologetic grin before continuing. "Okay, okay, um... I could go for some snackity juice."

He blinked and gave her an odd look. "Some _what_...?"

"Oh, err," She blushed a bit as she rubbed the back of her neck. "Um, jus'... somethin' ta drink and munch on, I meant ta say."

"No..." He said slowly, "I'm pretty sure you said '_snackity juice_'."

"Okay, maybe I did," She said sheepishly, "Tha's jus' what I've always called it: snacks an' juice... So what? Couldn't say it right when I was a young'un, an' I never got used ta sayin' it normal. So sue me..."

Damian smirked but didn't say anything as he walked out to get her 'snackity juice'.

The redneck exhaled heavily as she shared a look with Ari, who was giving her a critical look, as though asking, '_Do we really have to deal with him the rest of the day?_'

"C'mon, now, don't look at me like that," The girl pleaded sheepishly, "He ain't _that_ bad. He's pretty nice, if ya can look past all the insultin' an' stuff..." She _swore_ that Ari shook her head at her, and she defended, "'Ey, he's helped me out a lot! _So_, he's pretty rough 'round the edges, but he's still my bud."

Now, maybe the girl's mind was a bit hallucinative from the pain pills she'd taken not too long ago, but she was pretty damn sure that her great dane mix _rolled its eyes_. And even weirder... Farrah couldn't find that to be all odd at the moment.

"Don't you roll yer eyes at me, ya mutt!" She shot back playfully, "I pick up yer _shit!_"

A sigh came from the doorway. "What...?"

Farrah's eyes met Damian's, and she pointed at Ari in blame. "She rolled her eyes at me! I deserve to have my choice in friends respected!"

Balancing the tray in one hand and pinching the bridge of his nose with the other, he asked exasperatedly, "Did you take anything I should be aware of...?"

Her brows furrowed as she tried to remember. "Uh... Dee-Dem-somethin'." She pursed her lips to the thought as she tried to recall for a few seconds before turning on her side and grabbing a small bottle. "Demerol."

Another exasperated sigh escaped his lips before he could stop it. "That's meperidine... it causes hallucinations, _idiot_."

She gave a half shrug as he walked over. "I don't really care, I'm jus' glad it works." She glanced back down at Ari, who was laying on her legs while spinning her floppy ears like helicopter blades. "You see her ears spinnin' like that, right...?"

As he put the tray of food on her chest, he rolled his eyes. "I _knew_ you were acting a bit odd... How long ago did you take it?"

Sipping from the glass of sweet tea, she shrugged a shoulder distractedly while she looked at Ari oddly. "'Bout thirty-ish minutes ago, I'd reckon." Damian hopped on her bed and tried not mock her as she looked around with a curious look on her face. "Hey, Dami... Does the room look more... _purple-y_ ta you, or is it jus' me?"

"It's just you." He answered bluntly as he turned off the Xbox despite her whines. "I don't think it would be very fair to play against you when you're hallucinating... Stop whining and eat your snackity juice."

She stuffed a few pretzel sticks in her mouth and gave a muffled, "Okay."

Damian grabbed an Iron Man comic from her bedside table and began skimming through it while the girl munched on her pretzels.

After a few minutes of relative silence, save for the crunching from Farrah and her hounds as well as the occasional flip of a page, the girl asked curiously, "'Ey, you ever had a girlfriend, Wayne...? Or maybe a boyfriend, I dunno - whatever yer into."

He raised a brow as he glanced at her from the comic. "Dare I ask what brought this on...?"

She gave a small shrug. "I'm bored, an' all these colors're startin' ta make my head hurt, so I'm tryin' to focus on somethin' else. So... spill."

Rolling his eyes to the ceiling, he sighed. "I will if you do."

"Sho'." She smiled, rubbing her chin in thought. "Yeah, there was this one guy I knew in Ludowici: known him all my daggon life, been friends for all of it, too. 'Round age... thirteen, he startin' pullin' some moves on me, an' at fourteen, I finally caught the hint an' we got together."

"Ever oblivious, Bowman." He hummed amusedly.

"You know it," She chuckled in response, setting the tray on the floor and pulling her knees to her chest before resting her chin on her legs and shutting her eyes. "Nick Stone... By the time I left, everyone called 'im the 'Hulk'. Great guy, an' I love 'im, but... not like, _love_-love."

Farrah grunted when she felt one of the dogs nudge her foot, and threw her hand out blindly to pet whoever had nudged her. "He was... how do I put this... _he's too nice_."

Throwing the girl a bewildered look, he told her dryly, "I'm pretty sure you're the only person to complain about their boyfriend being too nice..."

"Well, it's not quite _that_." She defended, "It was more... _I dunno_."

"You _don't know_...?" He asked critically.

"I mean, I _do_, but it's kinda hard to explain..." She opened her eyes to glance at Damian, despite the swirling colors that she was quite sure weren't supposed to be there, and he nodded for her to continue. A sigh left her lips as she closed her eyes again. "Nicky was great. But he... he was _too nice_. He forgave me without a second's thought, no matter how stupid my actions was... The _one time_ I drank a bit, an' got tipsy, I ended up havin' a sloppy make-out with some city-slick that was scared a' _mosquitoes_, if'n you can believe it. I _hurt_ 'im, Nick, I mean... But once I explained, he forgave me right off the back."

"So you don't like that he was forgiving...?"

"Stop puttin' words in my mouth," She mumbled into her knees before continuing, "It's jus'... After that, I was... I started doin' a lotta dumb stuff an' ended up gettin' myself hurt. _Not_ drugs or anythin'," She added quickly, "I, erm... I got into a daredevil phase for a bit, is all. I was doin' all this _stupid_ shit, an' he kept forgivin' me, an' I _didn't deserve it_. I should a' gotten hollered at or somethin, but I didn'... I kept stressin' an' scarin' the hell outta Nick, but he never yelled at me or got irritated, an' that... that scared me," She admitted quietly. "You know how I am... trouble gravitates t'wards me, an' when I do somethin' stupid, sometimes I _gotta_ get hollered at, or I'll do it again an' I know it more'n anyone. An' on top a' that, the spark jus' kinda... _left_. I love 'im, don't get me wrong, but I don't think I was ever _in_ love with 'im. The whole 'never losin' his temper' thing jus' brought it ta my attention, y'know...?"

He hummed. "That was surprisingly simple. And rather than making it seem like _he_ did everything wrong, you acknowledged it was you. Props for that."

Farrah shrugged. "No one wants ta be the bad guy, includin' me. But if I donked somethin', I donked somethin'. I'm not gonna blame someone for me." She huffed and peeked her eye open to stare at him. "Yer turn, Wayne."

Damian tutted. "I hate to disappoint, but I've never been in a relationship."

The girl gave him a look. "Never."

"Never." He confirmed.

"In-in either way...?" Her brows furrowed together. "Not once."

"No." He rolled his eyes. "Not even once."

The redneck studied him dubiously. "Yer a liar. Dami, let's be frank here; yer hotter'n a bottle of habanero sauce in the middle of July. I seriously doubt you'd never even had a day-long fling..."

"While I appreciate the compliment," He told her, "I'm not lying. I have yet to be in a relationship."

Her mouth went into a straight line, and she huffed in disappointment. "An' you made me pull out that long-ass, stupider'n hell story about my lame fuckin' relationship." She gave a long sigh. "Well, throw me a bone, then: which way do you swing?"

Damian's cheeks turned pink, and he thanked whatever god that was up there that she kept her eyes closed. "That's none of your concern, Bowman."

"Well, my love story that wasn't really a love story was none a' yer concern either," She reminded him as she stifled a yawn. "C'mon..." He didn't say anything, so she took to guessing. "You seem like the kinda guy that goes both ways. Don't care what they got under the trunk, jus' likin' whatever the hell you happen ta like. If ya like a guy, ya like 'em, if it's a girl, you'll like 'em - not carin'. One a' those '_love is love_' people, am I right?"

His face turned darker, and he began to pray in his head that she would keep her eyes closed. "It's none of your goddamn business."

"Neither was my story, but ya still wanted ta know!" She grinned and peeked over. "'Kay, how 'bout this: ya got any crushes on anyone? Any stirrin' up a' feelin's when ya get 'round 'em? Butterflies in the stomach?"

His hand covered her mouth as he gave an irritated noise. For a few moments, she stopped talking and proceeded to slobber all over his hand, much to his annoyance. "Why."

She planted a kiss on the palm of his hand and sniggered as he pulled his hand away like it was on fire. Now, the girl was seeing _quite_ a few colors that probably weren't supposed to be there; but she was pretty sure he was blushing heavily, despite the fact that his whole face was a shade of green.

"You're blushin', ain'tcha?" His face got even darker, and she laughed. "You _are!_ That's cute..."

"I'm not _cute_," He shot back furiously, "I could kill you with two fingers! I could _drown _you and cover the evidence without a second thought!"

Farrah chuckled and leaned her head on his shoulder as she shut her eyes. "No you won't, you _love_ me!"

Damian made a face but didn't push her off, contrary to what the redneck had been expecting.. "_Do_ shut up."

"Don't tell me what ta do." She muttered back tiredly.

* * *

**Author's note~**

**Guess who's been having the most hectic and flipping _busy_ summer the past while? _This_ girl!**

**Yeesh, it's been a while, huh? Sorry bout that... Nothing I can really do about, I'm afraid. On top of all the work I've been doing, I've been having roommate problems, and she's hell-bent and determined to keep me off of the computer. And since she's also my dad's girlfriend and I'm still a kid, can't retaliate. Just gotta deal with it, I guess. Not much of an excuse, since I've dealt with worse, but... meh. Just know that I'm just as disappointed with myself as any of you are, if not, way more. I've had plenty of time, but all I've got is _this_ messy piece of crap.  
**

**This is more of a fluffy filler chappie, than anything. The next one is gonna be a bit of a filler, too, with some hinting of something that's coming up (if I don't change my mind, anyways... writing is like that for me. I'll make a plan, and next thing I know, I'm a mile from it *shrugs*). Can't say much about it, right, but I will say this... The Court of Owls will be involved in the future, and some other shtuff. It's gonna be _awesome!_ I just wish it were easier to write this mess, but oh well! **

**I love you guys. I know I kept you waiting, and I'm welcoming any bricks or rocks you throw my way.**

**And tell me if I made any errors in here and junk. Also, if you have any suggestions... I'm not gonna promise I'll do them, but I'd certainly welcome any ideas. Got a bit of a writer's block, and ideas might help banish it. And as always, I hope my goofy little story made you smile :)**

**Bear with me guys! ʕ´ᴥ`ʔ (Anyone getting sick of the bear thing? 'Cause I'm not!)**

**, _Blue_**


	9. Chapter 9

A tired mumble of complaint escaped Farrah's lips as she turned and hugged her pillow, nuzzling her forehead against the soft cotton with a yawn.

At least... she did until she realized that her pillow was _breathing._

Her head shot up and she groggily checked to make sure she wasn't using one of the dogs as a pillow because, while she oft did, her babies were still healing. And she would _hate_ to end up laying on a bullet hole: chances were, the dogs would allow her to do so without complaint.

Luckily, that wasn't the case... It was just Damian. She dropped her head back on his chest, when a thought hit her.

Damian, _as fond as she was of him_, was not supposed to be there. And not to mention, she couldn't quite remember the night before, yet...

A loud yelp ripped from Farrah's throat as she jerked back, away from Damian, but also off of the bed and onto the floor.

Curses spilled out of her mouth as she grimaced in pain. "_Fuck me_, that kinda hurt," she rasped as Damian and two furry faces popped over her bed and looked at her bewilderedly.

"What the f-" Damian started, only to shake his head to himself and heave an exasperated sigh. "Dare I ask...?"

"Fuck," Far whined in her groggy state of despair, "I dun wanna be on _Teen Mom_. I can't even fuckin' remember the daggon sex; what the hell..."

The boy gave her a look. "_What_ are you going on about...?"

"I told my folks that if'n I ever got pregnant, I'd go on that dumb-ass television show, an' I _can't_ fuckin' recall last night, an' yer _in my bed_, an' the worst part is: I can't even remember the daggon sex!" She glared up at the ceiling. "That should be the _least_ ya could a' done fer me, big man; I've dealt with a lotta _shit_ since I came here, you could at least let me remember the night I did it with mister grumpy pants! If'n it wasn't good, at the very least, I would a' had good teasin' material!"

An insulted look crossed Damian's face, and he rolled his eyes. "You think that _I_ would...?" He shook his head and snorted, raising a brow. "Absolutely _not_. For one, you were so hallucinative, you thought that Thor's claws were _bacon_. It was... a bit of a turn off, really." His lips twitched up as he gave an amused gaze at her blush before continuing, "And for another, if I _were_ to do that, I can assure you that you would _certainly_ have remembered it and _probably_ the best you've ever had."

She grinned, despite herself. "Oh yeah, Mister hot-shot?" He nodded, and she moved to sit up, only to spit a curse under her breath and stop. "_Oof_... D'ya wanna give me a hand here, or are ya gonna leave me on the ground?"

He rolled his eyes but got up, trudging over and dragging her up. Far lightly headbutted his arm in affection and thanks before ducking under his arm and making her way (albeit a bit slower than she would have preferred) to the kitchen.

Damian gave her a look. "You should probably stay in bed..."

With a shrug, she pulled the door open, biting back a grimace as a stab of pain hit her shoulder before peeking into the hallway. "Probably," She agreed. "But I do what I want, an', _quite frankly_, I'm daggon sick a' lookin' at that stupid fuckin' room. I'm a lil' sore - not _dyin'_, thank you very much." She turned and told her mutts firmly, "_Stay_."

"I hope you know that I _could_ make you, if I so chose." Damian reminded her as he followed her out of the room.

"I know you could." She assured him. And that was the end of it. She trusted him not to, and she (_hoped_) that he trusted her well enough to know that she wouldn't push herself too far past her limits for once.

And it _worked_, thankfully. He let her go without so much as a complaint.

Farrah rubbed her neck with a yawn as she ambled into the kitchen, tapping the half-full pot of coffee and looking at Damian questioningly. "Did _you_ make this...?" When he nodded, her brows rose. "Huh... Wasn't sure you'd know how, what with yer butler an' what not," She hummed quietly as she pulled out a mug and poured it into the cup. The girl hadn't intended to be _insulting_ or anything, but...

"What's that supposed to mean?" Damian asked, a scowl coming over his face, making that lovely calm and contented little smile that Farrah liked so much, disappear.

The redneck frowned as she ran over what she just said in her head, mentally cursing herself as she shuffled over and leaned against his chest with a whine. "Noo... don't take that in the wrong way, sugar," She told him weakly, "I wasn't tryin' ta imply nothin', I meant; it's an industrial coffee maker. The kind they use in coffee shops an' junk so there's a load a' buttons ta mash, an' most a' the common riffraff don't know how ta use 'em is all I meant," She assured him earnestly, "I know that sounded right bad, but I didn't mean it like it sounded."

He grunted and tried to glare, but gave up and sighed. The girl was always brutally honest, as far as he'd seen, so he figured he had no reason to hold a grudge... "_Whatever_."

She dared to glance up. The guy wasn't smiling, but he wasn't _glaring_ either. So, as far as she was concerned, she'd saved her hide and figured it would be alright to make some coffee. Damian leaned against the fridge as she made her cup.

"So how tall are you?"

She blinked and looked over at him. "Pardon...?"

"How... tall... are... you...?" He asked slowly, as though he were talking to a slow child. Luckily for him, she didn't really catch it, and settled with pursing her lips in thought.

"Erm... I ain't right sure." Far said a bit sheepishly, idly scratching her arm. "A few years back, I was five two, but I grew some, so... I reckon I'm 'round five six, five seven...? _Maybe_ five eight, if you wanna be generous an' I wanna straighten out my back... What about you?"

"Six foot one." He answered shortly.

Farrah gave a low whistle as she stirred her cup. "_Da-yum_. I knew you were tall, but I didn't think you were _that_ tall." She gave an experimental sniff of the contents within the cup before giving an approving nod and taking a sip, only to have her eyes widened as she choked on it.

Damian winced, and his cheeks turned light pink as he rubbed the back of his neck, averting his eyes to the wall. "Is it _that_ bad...? I was quite sure I was doing it right, sorry..."

"_That bad?_" She repeated, "_That bad?!_" She put down the cup and gave him a look, despite the fact he wouldn't meet her eyes. "Are you fuckin' yankin' my chain...? This is... this is - it's right amazin', Wayne!" Said boy's face twisted with disbelief as she gave him a goofy grin. "Not as good as _mine_, a' course, but still; pretty daggon good."

"It is...?" He asked dumbfoundedly.

The girl laughed at his face. "Sho' is, bo'. What'd you do to it...? There's a lil' kick innit, like, uh... cinnamon...?" He nodded and she grinned. "Never thought a' doin' that. An' the thing is: I _should_ a'. I like my coffee, an' I like ta mix it up some..." She playfully punched his shoulder. "Good on ya, bud. I gotta remember that."

As she picked her mug back up, he shook himself out of his surprise and puffed up his chest a bit with pride. "I _am_ pretty talented, aren't I?"

"Yep," she chuckled into her cup, taking a sip, "Modest, too, ain'tcha?"

"But of course." He countered with a smirk, adding, "And let's not forget my dashing good looks."

Far laughed. "Oh yeah, can't forget them. Yer so damn hot, I'm _humbled_ ya gave me the pleasure of hangin' 'round."

"You _should_ be." He snorted before pulling her mug out of her hands and taking a sip. "Smart, talented, good looks, _and_ I make a damn-good cup of coffee. What more could you want?"

The girl gave him an amused look as she fought back laughter. "Money...?"

Damian nodded and pointed a finger at her. "I have that, too."

The two grinned at each other while she hummed in thought. Her eyes lit up before she said smugly, "Patience. Ain't got _that_, now do ya?"

He scoffed like he was insulted as he passed the cup back to the redneck. "I put up with _you_. My patience is at the very top of the standard."

She opened her mouth to protest, only to falter before giving a small shrug. _She had to give him that one_. "Good point... How's about a bright an' sunny personality, then, mister perfect?"

He blinked. "Okay... _one_ thing."

"Still got a pretty good resume, there, Wayne." She laughed. "You ever got yer eye on anyone, let me know, an' I'll brag about ya, 'kay?"

Leaning against the counter and smirking, he raised a brow. "I wouldn't _need_ you to brag about me. If I want someone's affections, I assure you that I _can_ get it. _Easily_."

"Mm-hmm, _sure_ you can, sugar." Farrah sipped her drink, studying her rather cocky friend before asking curiously, "And ain't you s'posed to be in school...?"

The boy gave her a look. "Do you know what day it is...?"

She shrugged in response. "Not really... I haven't had any reason to keep track."

"It's _saturday_." He reminded her, reaching over and lightly flicking the back of her head. "As in; school is closed."

"_Oh_." Far blinked. "My bad..."

She started to say something else, but got cut off by the front door being knocked on. Before Damian could even blink, she put her cup in his hands and was halfway there, calling, "I got it!"

Farrah opened the door. The first thing she saw was a large man with large hands reaching toward her. Needless to say, she promptly shut the door within milliseconds. Not to be rude or anything, understand, it was just a reflex... After a few seconds of silence, with her just staring blankly at the door, she opened it again (just a creak, this time) and peeked through. She didn't get a very good look at the guy, but she could tell he looked confused, and a bit amused.

Dubbing it safe, she opened the door again. "Sorry 'bout that, sir, jus'... all I saw was a big dude reaching towards me, an' that's usually a red flag, y'know?" She idly rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. "What can I do ya for?"

The man, a tall, thickly muscled guy in a black suit, with shiny, gelled-back black hair and bright blue eyes smiled. "Not a problem. I heard what happened from Damian, and I could understand why you would be cautious. I'm Bruce Wayne, Damian's father."

Her eyes lit up as she opened the door a little wider. "_Oh_... _you_. I heard a bit 'bout you... Apparently yer some big, head-honcho type a' guy...?" She narrowed her eyes a bit in suspicion. "Yer not in, like, the _mafia_ or somethin', are ya...?"

"No," He chuckled. "I own Wayne Enterprises and Batman Inc... Damian didn't mention what I do?"

She shrugged. "I didn't ask, he didn't tell."

"Ah, the old '_don't ask, don't tell_' policy?" He smirked. His smirk _really_ reminded the girl of Damian, and she could _definitely_ see where her friend got his good looks.

"The right same, sir." She gestured into her apartment, a bit awkwardly. "D'you... wanna come in...?" The large man nodded and stepped in as she turned and called for her friend. "Erm... Dami, yer kin's here!"

Said teen's head popped from behind the wall that separated the kitchen and living room with a bewildered look. He met his father's eyes and walked from the kitchen to stand besides Farrah. "_Father_," He greeted coolly. "What are you doing here?"

Bruce smiled and raised a massive shoulder in a half-shrug. "I can't come and meet my son's new friend...?"

"I suppose you could," Damian grunted, shooting his father a warning look. "I would prefer it if you didn't intimidate my friends, though..."

"It's never intentional," The man defended cheekily, "I don't _try_ to be!" He turned to Farrah and flashed her a winning smile, "Am I intimidating?"

Far chuckled. "Nawww... Yer like a giant, muscled teddy bear!"

Damian's eyebrows shot up as Bruce barked a laugh, and he gave the redneck a look. "I... I've heard several descriptions of my father, and _that_... I've never heard that one, before."

Bruce gave a grin and chuckled. "Neither have I... You sure know how to pick 'em; I like her already."

"_Father_." Damian hissed, shooting said man a glare as his cheeks dusted pink.

Farrah's brow raised as she leaned closer curiously. "Are you...?" Her eyes lit up, and she laughed. "You _are!_ Yer blushin'! That's _adorable!_"

The boy scowled and lightly shoved her shoulder. "_Shut the fuck up._"

She bit back a bark of laughter as she put a hand over her heart. "You _wound_ me, Dami." She turned to Bruce and tried not to grin as she gestured back to the scowling teen. "He _wounds_ me, sir!"

"Indeed," Bruce agreed, not bothering to hide his smirk. "I thought I raised you better than that, Damian."

Said teen heaved an exasperated sigh. "Don't encourage her..."

"Aww, don't be like that," She nudged his arm before lightly headbutting his shoulder. "You know we're jus' yankin' yer chain..." She glanced over at Bruce. "I'm gonna go get my cup a' coffee... Want me ta make ya one, Mister Wayne...?"

"Just 'Bruce' is fine," He corrected lightly before giving a thankful nod. "I'll take it black with one spoon of sugar, thanks."

Giving a small, two-fingered salute, she nodded and flashed a smile. "Sure thing, Bruce. You two can go chill in the livin' room, I'll be right out." The girl inhaled a bit too deeply and winced, and Damian's brows drew together as he moved towards her, only to get waved off. "S'okay, bo', jus' breathed 'er in a lil' too deep. I ain't dyin'. Go show yer pa the livin' room, would ya? I got this."

Damian tutted, but gave a curt nod. As the girl stumbled into the kitchen, she gave a sharp whistle, and two blurred forms shot out of her room and into the kitchen.

As Bruce leaned back into a recliner and Damian sat on the couch, a happy bark came from the kitchen, followed by a strangled curse and a clatter of a glass hitting the table. "_Damnit_, dog, I told you - stop jumpin' into my arms! Not 'till we're all healed up, ya fuckin'-" A disgusted noise came from the kitchen. Damian and Bruce shared a look as the girl groaned in disgust. "Aw, _gross!_ My daggon mouth was open an'-_NO!_ Not a-fuckin'-gain!"

Bruce cracked a smile at his son. "You know, for her being a 'freak', you seem to care an awful lot about her..."

Damian shrugged as a low growl came from the kitchen, and Far let out a small yelp. "I pitied her."

"Is that so...?"

"_Yes_." He grunted, shooting his father a look. "Pity. Nothing more."

The man smirked. "Right... You know, you _can_ pity someone without spending the night, right...?"

He started to retort, only to get cut off by Far's curt yelp. The two men turned, only to see Farrah stagger out of the kitchen with two mugs and Thor hanging off of her shoulders while licking her neck, tail wagging furiously.

Squeaking with disgust as the mutt gave a particularly slobbery kiss in her ear, she visibly shuddered. "_Oh_, gross..." Standing up to help, Damian reached towards her, only to get waved off... _again_. "I'm fine, I'm fine... If I really wanted 'im off, I'd give the word an' he'd be off; cool yer tits."

As she handed Bruce the cup, he cracked a grin and gave Damian a pointed look. Said teen scowled and crossed his arms defensively as the redneck shook her dog off of her back, completely oblivious to her two guests quarrel as she playfully scolded the young dog while dropping to the ground..

Ari nudged Thor in the hind leg before curling around her master, and the puppy cocked his head at the older dog before sprawling out by Far's legs and resting his head on the girl's thigh. His tail continued to give slow, lazy wags as he watched Farrah, ready to spring up and play at a moment's notice.

Damian raised a brow. "You know... there _is_ room on the couch. I _probably _won't end up cutting out your tongue."

Bruce started to scold his son, only to falter as the girl threw her head back and laughed. "Y'know, you threaten me with that'un quite a bit..."

"There's a reason." He replied dryly. "I was hoping that you would catch on and maybe... _I don't know_... learn to shut your big mouth...?"

Farrah smirked and wiggled her tongue at him before crossing her arms defiantly. "Don't tell me what ta do, Slick."

"I can buy _and_ sell you, Redneck."

Bruce raised a brow amusedly as she shot back, "You _wouldn't_, so I ain't scared."

"What makes you so sure...?"

"Because ya love me." She smirked.

Damian scoffed. "You wish."

"Then I reckon my wish came true, didn' she, Wayne...?"

The boy finally rolled his eyes and reached down, flicking her in the side of the head. "You're an idiot."

Farrah turned to Bruce and gestured to his son. "Do ya _see_ what I deal with...?" She shook her head to herself before looking up at the ceiling. "I should get _paid_ fer this mess..."

Now, the girl had said that to herself, first of all, and she had also been joking, so... one could imagine her surprise when a wad of money was tossed into her lap.

Looking between Bruce, who had a smirk on his face, and the money, her eyebrows drew together. "What's... _what?_"

"You're right," The man chimed amusedly. "That was an excellent suggestion. You know, Damian's never had a friend from school before and... I know he can be a bit of a handful. So there," He nodded to roll in her hand, "Think of it as a '_thanks for being able to tolerate my son_."

Damian bristled on the couch, while Far stared at the large man with her mouth hanging open. "I..." She glanced back at the money and grimaced before tossing it back into Bruce's lap, much to his and Damian's surprise. "No... _thank you_, but, uh... no. If anythin'," She jerked her head to Damian, "Give it ta him. _He's_ been the one helpin' me out an' mess."

"Are you mentally retarded, Bowman...?" Damian asked dubiously.

"Naw," She shrugged a shoulder. "Well... maybe I am... But, I don't like gettin' paid 'nless I work for it, an' Damian's not work... The exact opposite, more like, y'know...? To take money jus' fer... fer bein' his _friend?_ Don't feel right. I ain't gonna take it, Bruce."

Bruce leaned back in the chair as a small smile crossed his face, resting his head in his palm. "Yeah..." He looked at his son, and his smile widened. "That one's a keeper, son."

"_However_," Far added to her previous statement, "If you ever need work done 'round yer yard er somethin', I dunno; maybe cuttin' down some stray branches an' puttin' 'em in a burn pile, I can do that." She gave a sheepish grin. "I need some work ta do, an' I'm willin' ta be paid in milk shakes. So, you ever need someone ta do that, I'm the girl ta call."

The man chuckled. "I'll be sure to remember that." He took a sip from his mug before asking curiously, "So, what are your interests...?"

She blinked. "Int'rests...? Erm..." She scratched her neck. "Readin' comics an' video games... and... _oh_, I play the harmonica an' guitar. Mainly the harmonica, nowadays," She mused, "I ain't got my guitar no more..."

Raising a brow, the man asked, "Why is that?"

"Well... I'd figured I liked sleepin' under a roof more'n havin' a guitar, I reckon." Sipping her coffee, she added, "An' it was the last mortgage payment, anyways... It would'a _sucked_ gettin' kicked out when we only had one more payment left." She shrugged. "But no biggy, anyways, I got 'er done. An' now that my folks don't have ta worry 'bout me, they're better off."

Both Damian and Bruce's smiles faded as they watched her cautiously, almost expecting her to start crying... But she didn't.

Bruce's brows furrowed. "I'm sorry... is that why you moved into Gotham?"

Far nodded and shrugged, flashing a half-smile. "Yeah, but... Don't worry 'bout it. We're all better off this way, an' I'm doin' okay, other than the muggin's. Bein' sad ain't gonna do nothin' fer me, so I might as well do my best ta stay positive. Find stuff that makes this place bearable, instead a' focusin' on the crappy stuff."

"That's a good outlook." Bruce nodded.

"It ain't mine," She chuckled. "At first, I was hell-bent an' determined ta hate this place," She admitted. "But I got some good advice."

The man cocked his head to the side. "Oh...? From who?"

The girl blushed as she rubbed the back of her neck. "I, um... I'm not sure you'd believe me, there, bo'."

Bruce leaned forwards in his seat, smirking. "Try me..."

* * *

"I-I _told_ you, a-a-_and_ your little bu-buddies... _No_."

Farrah froze mid-sip and shared a look with Bruce and Damian as a deeper, rougher, lightly accented voice growled back. "I don't think you are aware of how... beneficial this could be for both of us."

"Don't-don't come into my h-house!" Charlie's voice barked back. Farrah's eyes narrowed as she stood up abruptly, ignoring the stab of pain as she stalked towards the front door.

"'_Ey!_" The redneck barked, ignoring Charlie's gestures to go as she stopped in front of a very large, very broad, and very _muscular_ chest. The girl blinked before looking up, and it took a large chunk of her will to keep from gulping with nervousness.

The man was even taller than _Charlie_, meaning he had to be at _least_ seven feet tall. Muscles bulged from beneath his stone gray suit. The man's jaw was square, with a scraggly beard trimmed to a point at the end of chin and a shaved head. His skin was a deep russet-brown, with a scar marring his jaw line and black eyes with shadows underneath. The man gave the girl an expressionless look as she internally chased away her fear.

"My uncle said _no_." She finally growled, having found her voice. Thor and Ari padded up to her side, and Ari gave a low growl at the huge man. "Respect that, an' kindly _piss off_." She could practically _hear_ her uncle wince from behind her.

The man snorted and took a step closer, towering over the girl. He barely glanced away as Bruce and Damian came over.

It felt as though she was underwater, as Farrah craned her neck to meet his eyes. Bruce was saying something, but it muffled and blurred as she studied the unknown man's eyes. They were ancient... For a moment, she thought she saw hundreds of years worth of history and war dancing in his eyes, as he looked back at her... _she really hoped he couldn't tell she was scared shitless_.

The man finally grunted, the muscles in his jaw twinged as he gave a curt, almost _decisive_ nod, more to himself than her. "Fine." He muttered. "Very well..." His colorless eyes met Charlie's. "Be sure to remember us, mister Bowman. We would do well to work together. Consider it."

He finally turned and ducked out of the door, before reaching back and slamming it shut.

Not a word was spoken as Farrah turned, face white, and started to walk back to the living room. Just as she passed Bruce, her legs turned to jelly and she sank to the floor. She heard a shout but didn't bother placing the voice to a face as she covered her face with her hands.

Several pairs of warm hands dragged her up, mumbling words of concern and comfort.

As she got dropped into the plush couch, she asked faintly. "I think I pissed myself..."

Charlie breathed a laugh. "You-you didn't... don't worry... You were v-very brave, Farrah..."

"It's comin' back ta bite me, Cap," She breathed shakily, reaching up and grasping his shoulder. "Next time, tell me in advance... I'd a' felt better with a hammer er somethin' in my hand..."

Charlie gave a small smile as he brushed a strand of hair from her face. "Will do."

Farrah looked on her other side and met Bruce and Damian's bright blue eyes and smiled sheepishly. "Could you two keep this a secret...? Don't want anyone ta know I nearly fainted... Got a reputation to keep an' whatnot."

Damian simply shrugged, giving the girl an, '_I'll think about it_' look, while Bruce exhaled in a small laugh. "Of course."

* * *

**Author's note~**

**You know, I realized something. This one person, this epically awesome person, has been around since near the beginning of my other story, 'Courage'. Not saying any names, in case your shy or something, but can you just... LET ME LOVE YOU. For. Cereal. You're amazing, and you KNOW you are.**

***Ahem. Anywho... So. This is... short-ish. Shorter than I'd like it to be :\ Sorry about that... I usually try to make them at least over 5000 words but... *shrug* what can ya do...? I think I'm gonna have to bump things up to get it to speed, like the abduction and stuff I'm planning. Not gonna say anymore on that...**

**SO, big thanks to everyone who's read, reviewed, faved and followed! It's always fun to get up and check my email thanks to you guys. I'm really glad some of you guys like this as much as I like writing it! **

**Tell me if I made any mistakes somewhere around here and where, and if I haven't already found it, I'll fix. Thanks for the suggestions, guys, and as always, I hope my goofy little tale made you smile :)**

**Try to bear with me guys! ʕ´ᴥ`ʔ**

**, _Blue_**


	10. Chapter 10

Farrah frowned as she shut the car door, brows furrowed together as she turned and limped towards the arcade, deep in thought.

She just didn't understand it. Charlie was awfully insistent that she go to the arcade, today... Not that she minded, because she was getting pretty sick of being bed-ridden, but _still_... And even weirder, he'd given her fifty bucks and told her to have a sleepover with one of her friends. A _sleepover_. Now, if that wasn't suspicious, she didn't know what was.

Ever since yesterday, when she'd had that run in with that huge giant of a man, he's been acting awfully weird... well, weirder than _usual_. She saw him rummaging around in her backpack that morning, and he'd been acting a bit... _jumpy_. She didn't want to pry in his business, but... if he kept the act up, she might just have to start snooping in his room, the _one_ place he told her not to go into.

She _really_ hoped her uncle wasn't a drug dealer...

Putting a five dollar bill into the machine and collecting her coins, she pulled out her cell phone and dialed a number.

The phone rang once before being picked up. "What happened _this_ time, Bowman...?"

"_Nothin_'," She said defensively, "I ain't hurt again... I just, uh..." She trailed off unsurely, and she briefly considered hanging up and asking someone else, like Willy, or maybe Darwin, that foreign exchange kid from Australia...

She heard a sigh come from the other line before he asked, a bit less impatiently, "What is it, Bowman?"

"I, uh..." She chuckled sheepishly and stared at the carpeted ground. "Do you... You wanna hang out?"

"... _What_...?"

_Well, no turning back, now_... "Do you wanna chill out with me at the arcade? Charlie dropped me off, an' I figured maybe... you might, _I dunno_, wanna shoot up some zombies...?" She kicked the ground and scowled at the arcade keeper, who was watching her fascinatedly. "If ya can't, no worries," She assured him, "I mean, I could get Willy out here, we were due ta hang out one a' these days, an'-"

"-I'm assuming you're at the arcade a few blocks from your apartment complex?"

The girl blinked. "I-uh... yeah. Yeah, that's 'er."

"I'll be there in ten minutes." And before she could say anything else, his line went dead.

Farrah blinked a few times, phone still at her head before she finally sighed and snapped it shut, shoving it into her jeans pocket before turning to the guy behind the counter.

The man was middle-aged, with graying brown hair and bright eyes that lay behind horn-framed glasses, and a nametag that read '_Daniel_'. He gave a crooked, knowing smile. "Boyfriend?"

She raised a brow and gave a tentative smile. "Naw... jus' a bud."

He rested his chin on his palm. "But you'd _like_ him to be...?"

The girl hummed in thought and gave a shrug. "I wouldn't be _against_ it, but what we got now is A-okay in my book, Danny boy." She gave the place a quick look around. "An' hey, where's all the people...? I kinda figured that this place would be a lil' less... deserted."

Daniel shrugged. "Kids don't really like arcades like they used to... I'm gonna be honest with you: unless business picks up or I get a generous donation, this place is bound to close by February."

She frowned. "Aw, shucks... That a shame, bo', I'm sorry..."

"Yeah..." He breathed, lightly patting the counter. "Me and this old place have seen some times, I tell you... I'll miss her. But I can't afford to keep her up and running," He sighed. "I can't afford to hire anyone to help me out, and, between you and me, _I'm getting old_. I can't keep up like I used to... I suppose it's for the best. This place was less of a business for me, and more of a hobby..."

Farrah nodded and leaned against the counter. "I guess... Still, though... wish there was something I could do to help."

He chuckled. "You've helped more than enough, just by listening to an old man's laments." He reached under the counter and pulled out two cans of Sprite. Sliding one to her, he smiled, "Have one, on the house."

Smiling in thanks as she picked up the can and flipped the cap open, before turning and looking around. It looked like a pretty nice place to hang out, to her... Hell, she would have _killed_ for a place like it in Ludowici. She probably would've stayed out of a lot more trouble, and broken less limbs.

Various games sat in rows and along walls, both old and new. Christmas lights were strung out on the ceiling, giving the faint impression of stars against the midnight blue ceiling

She was so busy taking in the place, she didn't notice the concerned look Daniel started giving her. "Did you get into a fight, sweetheart...? Are you alright?"

"Hmm?" She caught the look he was giving her and blinked. "Oh. _Oh!_ Yeah, yeah, I'm awlright. No worries, Danny, I'm tough." She pounded her hand against her chest and bit back a wince before giving a winning smile. "My whole body's a callous."

A snicker came from behind her. "That's the _biggest_ load of bullshit I've ever heard, Bowman."

For a second, the redneck had to internally debate on whether to shoot back an insult, or smile. Smiling won out in the end, as she turned to wave. "Hey, Wayne. Ya got here awfully fast; I didn't know Alfie was such a speed demon."

Damian snorted and jiggled a set of keys as he walked over, clad in a red long-sleeved shirt and dark blue skinny jeans. "He's not. _I_ drove."

"Awlright, cool," She jingled the coins in her pocket and grinned. "You ready ta shoot up some zombies?"

Damian's lips twitched up. "Of course... Bet you I'll get a higher score than you."

"I bet you won't." She scoffed. "This time, we don't have a weapon a' choice; it's guns all the way, no matter what, an' I'm a hell of a shot, Wayne."

He smirked. "I bet your going to _lose_ this bet."

"I bet you you're an _asshole_." She shot back, barking a laugh as he lightly pushed her shoulder. All her past concerns about Charlie just seemed to melt away as they walked to the game, picking up the heavy plastic guns and putting two quarters into the slot.

* * *

"I'll be sure ta visit you again, Danny!" Farrah called back as she followed Damian outside the building, a giant rainbow slinky in one hand and a plastic Captain America Shield strapped to the other arm. She realized with a start that the sun was starting to set, as the door swung shut behind her. "_Day-um_. Didn't think we were in there that long..."

Damian rolled his eyes but didn't comment as he quickly texted someone on his phone.

Farrah took the time to check her phone as well, only to see that she'd gotten a text.

_Did you find somewhere to spend the night?_

The girl heaved a sigh and cursed under her breath. "_Damnit_."

Her friend glanced up and raised a brow. "What?"

"I gotta get a motel room." The girl grunted. "You know a motel that's cheap around here...? And a taxi number?"

"Why...?" He asked slowly, cautiously.

She shrugged. "I reckon maybe Cap's bringin' his lady friend over an' don't want me 'round, or... I dunno. He don't want me home. So, seriously, know any motels that go for less than thirty? _Preferably_ one that's not a total dump, but if it is, I'll live."

He stared at her for a few moments before turning back to his phone, long fingers pressing buttons far faster than she could, before pausing. A small ding came from his phone, and he checked it, only to nod to himself before looking back at her. Farrah raised a brow, only to yelp as he grabbed her hand and started tugging her along.

"_Woah_, there, buddy, yer not abducting me, are ya...? 'Cause, y'know, I'd have ta kick ya where the sun don't shine if ya are, an'-"

"Don't be stupid, Bowman," Damian sighed, "I'm not letting you stay in a shitty hotel room... I've asked, and you're allowed to stay the night at my home."

Farrah stopped walking for a second, only to be pulled back into a walking pace by Damian, and giving him a look. "Look, I appreciate it an' all, but I don't wanna _impose_ er nothin', an' I really wouldn't mind stayin' in a motel, it's _fine_."

The boy huffed and stopped, turning and giving her a look. "You haven't had lunch. _And_ it's about time for dinner."

"So...?"

"_So_," He said, talking to her like she was stupid, "You'll be able to afford a room, but not food. Not to _mention_ the fact that the cheapest place to rent is in the slums, and you _already_ have a difficult time staying out of trouble in a reasonably quiet area. I can't _imagine_ the chaos that would pursue you should you go to the slums." She blinked, and he rolled his eyes. "If something were to happen, and it somehow involved you, it would be _my fault_. In a way, you're _my_ responsibility, now. If something were to happen..." He trailed off and shook his head to himself before silently pleading her to not make him continue.

The girl idly scratched her arm through her father's jacket. The first thing that came to mind, "You ain't responsible for me, y'know... You can worry, but don't... don't feel like anythin' that happens is yer fault." Damian rolled his eyes again as she took a small step towards him and gestured for him to go. "I know ya think I don't give a damn about myself, but I actually _do_. When I ain't worryin' 'bout other people, my well-bein' is the first thing on my... _That is a sexy motorcycle_."

Damian smirked. "I know." He got on and put the key in, starting up the ignition of the sleek, black motorcycle with red detailing, before looking back at the gaping redneck. "Are you coming or not?"

She blinked and pulled out her phone, before texting him as quickly as her bruised and clumsy fingers would allow.

_I reckon im stayin at damians for the nite._

Once it was sent, she nodded and hopped behind Damian, a goofy grin on her face as he revved up the engine. A thought hit her, and she faltered as she lightly tugged his shirt. As he glanced back to look at her, she asked, "Where are the helmets?"

He stared at her for a few seconds before breaking out into a chuckle. Like she was being _funny_... "You might want to hold onto me..."

Farrah swallowed nervously, arms still at her sides. "Wait, you never answered my questi-_ooh nuts!_" A yelp escaped her lips as she threw her arms around his waist to keep from falling off the back.

For the first few seconds, she was _really_ concerned about the possibility of death. But really, she'd been feeling that a lot, and the fear wore off fairly quick. When she finally stopped burying her face into his back and opened her eyes, it struck that, _hey_, she wasn't dead yet! Maybe there was hope for her yet!

The girl leaned back just a bit (as much as her fear of death would allow), and watched the buildings and people fly by.

It was kind of beautiful, in a way. The city was still gray, still depressing, and the completely _unnatural_ smell still made her nose twitch. But beautiful...

She almost relaxed... Until, of course, the bike suddenly jerked forward, and she nearly lost her hold on her friend. Then, she went right back to hugging Damian's back and squeezing her eyes shut. She was pretty sure he was laughing, judging from the shake in his shoulders, but she let it go... Far was more concerned with not falling to her death; or, at the very least, a very much unwanted trip to the hospital.

Not that she minded hospitals, of course. They certainly came in handy, saving lives and what-not... Just, ever since that one time she was a kid, and she'd been walking down the halls with her father to visit her great-grandma, they'd unnerved her... She recalled seeing all those tired, sad, withered, and sometimes _angry_ faces staring back at her through the open doors, as though blaming _her_ for not having any visitors...

Shuddering at the memory and giving Damian a light squeeze, she shouted over the wind, "Are we there yet?"

He cocked his head, but kept his eyes on the road. "What?"

"_Are we there yet?!_" She repeated, louder, only to yelp as the bike came to a rather abrupt stop. "_God_, are ya _tryin_' ta kill us?!"

He looked back and snorted, raising a brow. "We're here."

The girl blinked and leaned over to the side to see. Her jaw dropped. "_This_ is where ya live...?"

"It is."

"Yer pullin' my leg, ain'tcha...?"

His brow raised. "No...?"

It took her awhile to get her mouth to work properly, but even when she did, all she could manage was an awed, "_Woah..._"

Damian chuckled at her face and got off. Farrah, well... she was still taking it in.

His home was certainly nothing to scoff at... It was huge. More of a mansion or a manor than a house. To put it simply: it was huge, it was fancy, and it made the girl realize that there was a _reason_ people fell over themselves trying not to upset Damian. He, or rather, the Wayne's, were powerful people...

Farrah finally blinked and shook her head to clear it before looking over at her friend. "Nice place... That's some nice architecture ya got there." He smirked as she hopped off the bike and stretched, trying and failing to nonchalantly admire Wayne Manor. "Suddenly, I can kinda get why people are scared a' ya." She rubbed her hands together as a blast of cold September wind (which was kind of weird, because September had never been so cold back home) hit her. "I mean, they _shouldn't_, 'cause yer actually right awesome, but... y'know."

The boy shrugged and motioned towards the large, heavyset doors before walking to them, her close behind. "I suppose I can't really blame them... it's not as if I go out of my way to be friendly, like that damned Grayson..."

She cocked her head to the side. "I'm sorry, but... _who_ now? Grayson...?"

He heaves an exhausted sigh like he _really_ doesn't want to talk about it, but answers as he puts a key in the lock and pulls one of the doors open.. "Richard Grayson: one of the many adopted children my father has taken in... He's... a bit of a pest and a show-off, really, but I suppose he's tolerable."

A cheerful voice came from inside the house. "Hey, you can take the boy out of the circus, but you can't take the circus out of the boy!"

The second Far stepped in the house she was greeted by a really tall, really _attractive_ guy. He had shiny, jet-black hair and bright blue eyes. Damian immediately groaned and slapped his palm to his forehead, and the man ignored him for a moment to grin at Farrah. "A-_ha!You_ must be the girl that Bruce and Alfie told me about! Farrah, right...?" She nodded, and he beamed. "I'm Dick." He glanced over at Damian. "And just so you know, Tim's over, too."

The second he mentioned Tim, Damian gave an irritable scowl. "_Drake_ is here...?"

"The _brat_ is here...? Couldn't he just _stay_ out until we left?" A voice complained with a groan, and Damian bristled. The voice's owner walked in, and by then, Far was getting a little bit exasperated. _Another_ attractive guy with black hair and blue eyes...?

"Why are all a' you people so daggon _attractive_?" The girl sighed exasperatedly as she stepped between Damian and (she guessed) Tim, who were trying to have a stand-off. As she put a hand on Damian's shoulder, she made a face. "An' _tall_, too... I feel like a midget next ta you guys..."

Tim ignored her and Damian barely even glanced down, but Dick laughed. "Just luck, I guess..."

"It ain't rightly fair," She grunted before pulling her grumpy friend down by the collar. She gave the angry boy a look and lightly patted his cheek. "_Stop acting crazy_."

Damian narrowed his eyes as the guy behind her snickered. "He's _asking_ for it."

"And he started it." Tim chimed from behind her.

Farrah stood up straight and looked back at him. "Yeah, well, _I'm finishin' it_. I am too hurt an' too tired to break up a fight, daggon it. _You_, stop messin' with my buddy," She turned back to Damian and poked him in the chest, a dimpled grin crossing her face despite herself, "An' _you_, take an anger management class... Sheesh."

Damian huffed but straightened up, rolling his eyes as he did so. "_Do_ shut up, Bowman, before I cut out your tongue." Tim and Dick froze, both turning to see Farrah's reaction. Much to their surprise, she _laughed_.

"Well," She smirked, opening her mouth wide and wiggling her tongue at him, "C'mon, then. I reckon yer gonna have ta, 'cause I don't take orders very well."

He snorted and raised a brow. "You are aware that you're _asking_ for it...?"

The girl grinned. "Bow chicka bow w-_mmph!_" She got cut off by Damian slapping his hand over her mouth, only to slobber all over his palm, a sparkle in her eyes as he made a disgusted face.

"_Must_ you?" He sighed. She nodded, and he pretended to hit her in the side. She made a big show of pretending to be seriously injured. He raised a brow at the girl's antics, and she couldn't help it; she broke out into a fit of laughter as Damian tutted, "You are an _embarrassment_... you know that, don't you?"

"Yeah, yeah," She chuckled, smacking him off as he tried to wipe his hands on her shirt and turning to the two absolutely _gobsmacked_ men. Raising a brow, she asked slowly, "Erm... Y'all awlright, there?"

Dick blinked and shook his head vigorously to clear it before smiling, nudging Tim to snap him out of it. "Fine, fine... We're fine. Just a little... surprised."

"Surprised that you have Damian so _whipped_." Tim confirmed.

Damian immediately scowled and leapt at Tim, only to get pushed back by Farrah. His nostrils flared as he gestured to Tim angrily. "He's _asking_ for it!"

"Not really," She countered easily, "He's _teasin_'. _Messin' with ya_... what I do ta you ev'ry, what, five minutes...? Either way, _calm down_. Attackin' people ain't good. Deep breaths, Wayne, deep breaths... _Inhale_... _Exhale_." He rolled his eyes but bit his tongue as he leaned back and crossed his arms. Once she was sure he wouldn't attack the guy, she turned back to the two guys and cracked a grin. "Sheesh... I ain't never seen Dami like this... Reckon ya'll are somethin' else... an' that can be taken in a good way er a bad'un."

Dick laughed. "Boy, you are a _treat_... It's a shame I can't stay and chat; I have a feeling _that_ would be something." He grinned and held out his hand to shake. "It's been nice meeting you, brief as it was."

"Aww, leavin' already?" She snorted as Damian made an approving noise from behind her. "Though, maybe it's fer the best... I wouldn't be able ta keep Damian out a' trouble from much longer'n this..." The girl cocked her head to the side as she studied the man curiously. _He looked vaguely familiar_... "Train guy that made fun a' my jacket...?"

The man beamed and laughed. "I was wondering if you would recognize me!" He slipped on the blue coat. "Told ya I'd see you around, didn't I?"

"Yeah, you did," She chuckled, grabbing his hand and giving it a brief shake before turning to Tim and saying half-kidding, half-not, "An' _you_... Mister Tim. Quit messin' with my bud, 'ere... He's got enough of a temper as it is, an' you don't help right much, ya hear?"

"I hear you... not making any promises, though... Until next time." Tim chuckled as he shook her hand before bringing it up and placing his lips against her knuckles with a smirk, making poor, somewhat confused Far blush and sending Damian into a rage.

"I'll fucking kill you, Drake!" The youngest Wayne seethed.

Farrah grunted as she quickly held her arms out to keep her friend from attacking Tim. "Not _again_..."

* * *

"Soo... I take it ya don't like that Tim guy...?" Far asked as she followed Damian through the large, lavish halls.

Damian grunted as he turned into a large room. "_Despise_ him."

She started to question why, but the words dissolved in her brain as she took the room in. Five large, comfortable-looking chairs with built-in cup holders sat on one side of the room, and on the other...

"_Dude!_" She gaped. "That... That's like... as big as a daggon car!"

"_Bigger_." He corrected with a smirk as she walked over, arms out, trying to measure it. "Depending, of course, on the type of car you mean. But still, nonetheless, larger than most... Impressed, yet, Bowman?"

Farrah stuttered and stumbled over her words for a time before giving him a look. "Yer pullin' my chain... _Yes_, I'm impressed! What fool wouldn't be?!" She gestured to the large television in emphasis. "_Look_ at that! It's-it's fuckin' bigger'n _me!_"

"Want to try it out?"

She turned to give him a look. "That is the _dumbest_ question I ever did hear..." She rolled her eyes to the (very detailed and fancy) ceiling as Alfred came in with a tray. Farrah grinned in greeting and gave a small wave to the butler. "Hey! Where ya been, Alfie, I missed ya!"

The man gave a small smile as he placed one of the glasses in her hand. "And I as well, Farrah... How are you feeling...? I heard about the, shall I say, _little mishap_ with those thugs."

The girl gave a sheepish smile and rubbed the back of her neck. "Oh, ya know... Shit happens. I'll live. Still hurt in a lotta places, but I ain't lettin' a lil' beatin' hold me back! What about you, how're you holdin' up?"

"Quite well, thank you for asking," Alfred hummed as he gave Damian his cup. "I was correct in assuming you wanted chocolate, yes...?" Damian gave a curt nod and he turned back to Farrah. "And strawberry, correct...?"

Farrah blinked and took a sip from the straw, and her eyes lit up. "Aw yeah! How'd you know strawberry's my favorite?"

"If I recall correctly, you _told_ me so," He answered amusedly, "When, I believe, we were discussing the best ice cream flavor..."

She blinked. "Oh yeah... Yers was raspberry sorbet." Alfred's smile grew as he gave a small nod.

"It was indeed, madam... Enjoy your game. Should you need anything, just give a shout."

Giving a small salute, she nodded and fell back into the chair as Damian turned on the TV and Xbox. Once Alfred left, Damian sat in the chair next to her and tossed her the other controller. "Prepare to lose..."

"_Oh_, you should," She shot back playfully, nudging his arm as she put the cup down. "I'm bringin' on the _hurt_. Don't be too upset when ya lose the game... 'Cause I fer damn sure am gonna win."

He scoffed and smirked, simply saying, "We'll see..."

* * *

"_Cheater!_" Farrah shouted furiously as she dodged Damian's pushes with her legs, fingers furiously tapping at the controller's buttons, her character narrowly dodging a lethal explosion. "I'll mo-foin' hog tie you up, ya keep this bull up! _Quit cheatin'!_"

"_Tt_, I play to win," He told her with a small smirk, "By any means necessary. It's how I was raised."

"I don't care if you were raised ta eat the hearts of yer fallen foes, dagnabbit! Yer gonna stop today, er _I'll_ start cheatin', too!"

Damian scoffed. "What could you possibly do...?" He even stopped pushing her to prove his point, as she tried to shove him to the side and failed to make him budge. "That's doing as much good as pushing a brick wall... You can't cheat, not with _me_."

"I beg ta differ." Damian froze up as lips brushed against his cheek, and his character suddenly got stabbed in the back. A victorious laugh escaped Farrah's lips as she wiggled in her seat happily, cheeks dusted with pink. "_Ha!_ What'd I say, Slick? Now we're tied! Next kill wins it!"

As his character respawned, he muttered quietly. "So, that's how it's going to be...?"

She cocked her head towards him as she switched weapons. "Say what now? I didn't hear-_mm!_" Far never got finish what she was asking. Because Damian kissed her. Like, smack dab on the lips... and it wasn't just a little peck, either... But before she could even _react_, he'd pulled away and she heard a shout of pain from the screen. "_You bitch_."

"_Tt_, regardless of what you call me; I win." He smirked and set the controller down as the words '_Player 1 Wins_' flashed across the screen. As Far crossed her arms and pouted, he asked, "What now...? Another match, perhaps?"

Farrah harrumphed and chewed on her lip while she considered her options. Licking her lips and tasting chocolate milkshake, she was reminded that -_holy shit_- Damian had kissed her! And it... it had felt pretty good, actually... She blinked, licking her lips once more before glancing over curiously. "'Fore we do that, I, erm... You..." She made various hand motions in hopes of getting her point across, but when it didn't work, she slapped her palm to her forehead. "It... it was one thing ta, y'know, kiss on the cheek an' stuff, but... you kissed me on the lips."

Damian gave a small nod, keeping his eyes glued to the screen. "I did."

She opened her mouth to say something but changed her mind and shut it, before opening it again. "You, uh... You know the difference between the whole '_friends_' an' '_more'n friends_' concept, right...?" He nodded again, and she blinked. "So're you... are you attracted ta me, er-"

"-I am." He confirmed with a grunt, cheeks turning pink as he shot a quick glance in her direction. "Are you?"

"Yeah." The girl lightly rubbed a bruise on her arm, staring at it like it was the most interesting thing in the world. "I mean, it's a little soon an' all, but..."

He quirked a brow. "Do you _really_ care that it's soon?"

"_No_, no," She defended, shrugging a shoulder, "I jus'... thought it might be a concern a' yers... Was jus' bein' considerate."

He grunted in response, and the two went quiet for a moment. Farrah twiddled with her fingers a bit as Damian inspected a nonexistent speck of dirt on his jeans, both trying to figure out what to do with the newfound information.

_Damn_, she'd never had this problem with Nick... But she'd also known Nick her entire life and thus, knew the guy inside and out... _So_, she supposed she'd just have to sort of... _wing it_.

"So, you got a thing fer me," She looked at him for confirmation. He nodded once, and she continued, "An' I... I got a thing fer you. So..." The girl raised a brow questioningly and gave a cheeky grin. "You, uh... you-we... _kiss?_" The second the words left her mouth, she slapped her palm to her forehead with a sigh. "Gollee, _that _'un was smooth..."

Damian breathed a laugh and pulled her hand from her forehead with surprising gentleness. "You're an imbecile, Bowman."

She shrugged and gave a crooked grin. "Or we could play another game. Or snuggle. _Or_, we could go get more milkshakes... I'm always down fer that. Strawberry all the-" She stopped as he leaned closer and placed a chaste kiss on her lips. Blinking and licking her lips, she added, "Er we could go with chocolate. That's good, too... Funny thing, though, I don't usually like chocolate." The girl blew air into his face with a smile.

Damian rolled his eyes and started to talk, only to get cut off. "_Terribly_ sorry to interrupt, but I require young master Farrah's presence."

Said girl all but leapt back with a yelp, falling solidly to the ground on her arse with a notable _thump!_ Both Damian and Alfred winced, and she immediately hopped back up to her feet. "_I'm okay!_" She brushed off her shirt, not-so-subtly rubbing her behind before walking over. "I'm here, I'm awlright... What's up, Alfie?"

The man's face turned apologetic, _sorrowful_, and the girl's brows furrowed as he folded his hands behind his back. "There are a few things that need your attention, madam." Before he could say anything else, three blurred forms darted past the man's legs and to her.

Thor, Ari (who was holding a backpack by the strap in her jaws), and a black great dane she didn't recognize. All three's tails wagged furiously as they crowded around her. "_Oh_. Yeah, I... i guess I can see how this might be a bit of a pickle..." Ruffling Ari's ears before taking the backpack and slipping one of the straps over her shoulder, she observed the black great dane, who came well over her waist. She let him sniff her hand before petting him. "I dunno this beauty right here, though..."

"I know you don't... That is Titus, master Damian's dog." Alfred shifted in place, and he looked at the ground guiltily. "And one more thing, ma'am..." He walked over to the TV and changed it to the cable, then to the news. The first thing she noticed on the TV before reading the words was that her apartment building was on the screen. Her stomach lurched as she read the news report, and her face fell. "I am... I'm frightfully sorry, ma'am..."

_Local scientist Charles Bowman's home ransacked. Bowman is currently missing_.

* * *

**Author's note~**

**WOW, I'm a bit of a douche waffle, aren't I? It's been like, what, two-ish weeks...? Yeah... I suck... Past few weeks have been really donkus. I've been canning stuff and helping some issues with my cousin work out. One of her family member's been doin' some... creepy junk that hinted the possibility of gunk like future molestation and other bad stuff that's really not-good, and my cousin's my homie so I HAD to get that sorted out... If she got hurt, man, I don't even know. That's my bud, right there, and I'd never ever want anyone to go through that, much less her. And then my OTHER little cousin has been texting and calling me nonstop, and just ASFdgsfgadhf. Stress, guiz, I haz it...**

**But whatever. Threw in a bit of romance, as a bit of an apology and because that isn't gonna be around for the next while... Maybe some very very small bits of hints of it, but then that's it. I have some plans for this mess, yo! Hope you guys like the court of owls because that's comin' up! Maybe not in the very next chapter, or even the next few after, but it _is_ coming. WOO!**

**Anywho, Let me know if there's any mistakes in here, other than Farrah's silly redneck talk. And as always, I hope my goofy little story made you smile :) And I welcome any bricks you have to throw because that really was an unreasonably long time to wait for an update.**

**, _Blue_**


	11. Chapter 11

Alfred leaned over to Damian. "Perhaps you should... _comfort_ her, master Damian...?"

Said boy grimaced and nodded before walking over to Farrah. Who, by the way, was facing a wall with her arms crossed, glaring at nothing in particular. Thor, Ari, and Titus sat a few yards away, staring as Damian stopped behind the redneck.

Just before his hand reached her shoulder, she grit out between clenched teeth, "_Don't_. Jus'... leave me alone, 'nless yew wanna tell me how much a' an _idiot_ Ah am!" Her hand clenched into a fist and she moved like she was going to hit something, only to stop and instead shove her hands in her pocket. "This's _mah_ fault... It could a' been avoided."

Damian raised a brow. "Don't be stupid."

"I'm _not_, daggon it!" She fired back angrily, "It's _true!_ Ah knew Charlie was actin' weird, an' Ah should a' stayed, but instead, I..." The girl threw her arms up in the air before covering her face. "How in _sam hell_ could Ah have thought he was actin' funny 'cause a' a _girl?!_ How could Ah think it was somethin' so _stupid_, so _petty_ as a cotton-pickin' lady friend?!"

The full gravity of the situation hit her and a wave of emotion washed over her as she began pacing the room, a lump growing in her throat. "God, what's _wrong_ with me?! A-Ah should a' stayed an'-"

"-And what?" Damian interrupted, "Get abducted as well...?"

"Ah could a' fought back!" The girl shot back, still pacing.

He scoffed and leaned against the wall. "Oh, yes, and then get _killed_ for trying to interfere. Charles _clearly_ knew of what was coming, and prepared for it. You are safe, and there's still a chance of getting your uncle back _alive_."

"_Don't fuckin' say that!_" She snarled, facing him with a scowl as she stalked over, glaring up at him with the ferocity of a raging animal.

Farrah was rather small, but she was by no means fragile. Years of working hard and playing hard have coated her with a layer of muscle. She was solid, and no pushover.

But still... He knew she wasn't a particularly violent person unless the other struck first, not to mention the fact that she wasn't exactly _threatening_ with her wobbling lip as she tried not to cry. If anything, it just made him pity her...

"Don't say that... _please_ dun' say that." Farrah gave a shaky breath as she turned away and crossed her arms. "He ain't dead... he _can't_ be. Ain't even a possibility." Damian held his tongue as she chewed on her lip. "Ah... Ah never got ta tell 'im Ah loved 'im, ya know that...?"

"Pardon?" He raised a brow.

The girl swallowed the lump in her throat and cleared it, composing herself as best as she could before explaining, "In all the time I've been 'ere, I never told Charlie that I loved 'im. Was-was _gonna_, but... but I never got 'round ta it. He can't die on me 'till I tell 'im. He _can't_."

"I am not going to lie just to reassure you," Damian frowned, moving to touch or maybe hug her, only to stop and grimace at himself before adding, "But I _can_ assure you that if he is alive, I will do whatever it takes to bring about his safe return."

Farrah bit her lip and sniffled, but nodded before dropping to the ground. Once she was situated, Thor and Ari came over. The younger dog crawled into her lap and whined as Ari curled around her. Wrapping an arm around the two and nuzzling Ari's large head, she tried to smile as the Dane mix licked her watery eyes.

Alfred and Damian stood a few feet away, sharing a look before the younger of the two slinked away while Alfred stepped towards the girl.

"I am aware that you are upset, madam, but _must_ you sit on the floor...? Surely the chairs would be more comfortable?"

Farrah shrugged a shoulder, sniffling a bit as she stroked Ari's head. "I'm used ta it... Back home in Georgia, we 'ad a barn, an' on stormy nights I'd sneak in an' sleep with the hounds..."

Alfred raised a brow but nodded. "If you insist upon it, madam. Young master Damian has left to inform master Bruce of the unfortunate news if he does not already know, and then the two are going to get the best help they can offer, so worry not..." The butler kneeled down and sat a glass of tea by her side. "Or, at the very least, try not to _act_ worried around young master Damian. He does not know how to react when you do... he wasn't quite raised as a... _normal_ boy should be."

"Yeah, I kinda figured." She admitted quietly, lips twitching up as Titus came over and sniffed her leg, "I mean... it's kinda obvious, y'know...?"

The man gave a small smile. "Yes, I am quite aware." He glanced back at the TV and handed her the remote. "_Do_ try to stay out of trouble while I go about my daily duties."

"I reckon I could try." She mumbled as she lightly rubbed Titus's ear. Satisfied, Alfred nodded and threw her another sympathetic look before turning and waltzing out at a leisurely pace.

She stared at the man out of the corner of her eye until he went out of sight, wheels in her head turning at a furious pace.

Damian had been right, now that she could think a bit clearer. Charlie _had_ to have known, that was the only explanation, but... _why?_ Why would he send her away? Why did it happen? _How_ did it happen?

But most importantly: _why did he send her away?!_ Did-did he think she couldn't have helped, that she wouldn't have been able to stave them off...? She was able to take care of herself! Hell, she's staved off thugs! _Twice!_ Granted, she'd ended up having to be saved by Batman and Robin in the end, but that was because she was outnumbered and a tad bit too trusting...

The girl frowned. _No_, that couldn't be it... Her eyes fell upon the backpack that had been carried in by Ari and froze. "Thor... Go get me that."

Said dog groaned with complaint, but got up and took the backpack strap with his teeth, dragging it to her feet before plopping besides her legs with a sigh. Farrah would normally berate him playfully, but was instead focused on the backpack, pulling it into her lap and ripping it open.

Farrah searched through her backpack, combing for any clues or signs of where or why. She pulled out some shirts, pants, her favorite comics, her wallet, her old harmonica, _hell_, she even found her mom's knife and that batarang she had picked up in there; but no clues. Really, all it told her as she combed through the contents, was that Charlie paid a lot more attention than she had thought...

As she got to the bottom, her heart jumped into her throat. A small, unfamiliar black box laid at the bottom.

Her hands trembled as she pulled it out, and she swallowed thickly before opening it.

The first thing she saw was a note, folded twice with a few crinkles and smudges along the sides. Opening it up, she steeled herself against an onslaught of emotions before reading.

_Farrah,_

_Hopefully, nothing will happen, and you will have no reason to worry and, thus, not find this... however, I fear that this will not happen. I am quite certain what is going to happen, and I am rarely wrong._

_If I know you well enough from the time when you were a toddler and now, then I am guessing that you are either blaming yourself (or maybe me) for this, for not seeing it. The latter, well... that was you. You are far too trusting, and that is both a bad trait and an admirable one. But you should not blame yourself should anything befall upon me._

_It was entirely my fault._

_I was... careless. An organization found my work, and wish to use it for their own use. The flask within this box is the product of my latest work. It is not perfected yet, but I am close to a breakthrough. The ONLY reason I am taking this risk at all is because I have had to destroy all my notes. I cannot allow them to attain my work, should they try to take it, but when this is over and done with, I would like to continue perfecting it and not have to start over._

_Heed my words, Farrah. Let no one gain access to the flask-especially the large man you saw two days ago. The man's name is Isrann Kovitch. He is a cruel, pitiless man part of an even worse group, 'the court of owls'. Never let them get this. I care not how you achieve this, just PLEASE do it. If they try to bribe you, even with me, do not give in. If you wish, I will tell what it does, exactly._

_I am sorry, Farrah. I never anticipated this. Do not hold me in spite - you must realize that this, the "Captain Solution," is much more important than I._

_And I realize that this is a very poor excuse/apology for whatever may happen. Just PLEASE do as I ask. If things turn out as I anticipated, I want you to know that these past few months have been the most enjoyable I've had in years._

_Love and respect,_

_Your uncle, Charles_

Farrah ground her teeth together as she stared at the scribbled, somewhat sloppy handwriting. She really wasn't sure if she should have started screaming in frustration or crying...

Finally just crumpling up the note and shoving it into her pocket, she gingerly grabbed the small flask and peered almost _accusingly_ at the contents inside. It glowed a very faint blue, and as she held it in her hands it seemed to very faintly hum.

_That_ was why her only uncle was in so much danger... What could it be? A cure for cancer? A cure for AIDS? Her curiosity overcame her spite as she turned the beaker in her hand.

The girl finally decided to find out what was so _damn_ important about it, and pulled off the top, wafting to contents smell towards her. Oddly enough, the smell faintly reminded her of _marshmallows_.

Glancing at Ari, she asked, "How bad could it be? Cap always used ta go on an' on 'bout makin' the world better..." Titus gave a low _Rraaf!_ and she looked back at the Captain Solution. "He didn't say _not_ ta drink it er anythin'. An' he would _know_ not ta tell me ta drink it... right...?"

Maybe she was stricken mad with grief, but she was _pretty sure_ that Ari shook her head no. And Thor seemed to _grin_ at her.

Giving a shrug, she put it to her lips. She was normally _far _more cautious, but, well... _hell_. This wasn't a normal situation. Not. Even. Close.

So, throwing caution off to the wind, she took a small sip.

Far blinked and licked her lips as she closed up the small beaker. She put it back in the box, and as she had put the box back into her backpack and hid it in a lump of her clothes, a wave of nausea hit her.

"_Uup_, I already regret doin' this," She grunted, folding into a ball as a wave of soreness washed over her. "What in sam - _ohhhh_ daggon it."

Ari gave a low whine as Thor rubbed his chin against her side as another groan escaped her lips. As the urge to puke hit her, she groaned and swallowed the bile, shuddering in disgust. "_No_. No, I... I dun wanna puke. No pukin' up my milkshake, _please_... dun wanna..." She gagged but kept it down.

As black completely covered her vision and her body stiffened before falling limp onto the floor, she uttered, "Aw shi-ot... _this was a mistake_."

* * *

Farrah's ears rang as cold hands helped her sit up. Her whole body ached like it would after a hardcore workout or something... She cracked her eyes open only to hiss in pain as she squeezed them closed again. "_Ugh_, my daggon head... An' why're yer hands so cold?"

She heard an exasperated sigh. "They're not cold; you are warm. What did you do _this time_, Bowman...?" When she didn't respond, she got pulled into a chest and lifted. "_Christ_, you're burning up. What the _fuck_ did you do?"

"Nothin'," She lied weakly, nuzzling her face into the cool shoulder, "Jus'... need a nap is all, Dami." Daring to glance up, she was met with unamused ice blue eyes and, though she knew it would be pushing her luck, asked meekly, "I don't reckon you could carry me to a couch er somethin'...?"

Damian rolled his eyes but gave a small, barely visible nod. "_You're an idiot._"

"I barely even have the drive ta disagree anymore." She mumbled as she studied him closely. Faint bags were under his eyes, and a bandage that she was _pretty sure_ wasn't there before peeked out from the collar of his shirt. Lightly running her fingers against the edge of the bandage as her brows drew together, she asked drowsily, "An' where'd this 'ere come from...? Look all tired an' such, too...You awlright, Slick? "

"Of course I am," He said stiffly, rolling his shoulder as he glanced down at the three dogs at his heels, "I was helping Batman Inc. find information to help find Charles, and I had a bit of a mishap."

The girl sniggered. "_Clutz_."

He tutted. "_Hardly_. If anything, _you_ are the clutz, here. You can barely stand on your own two feet, half the time."

"Can too," She lightly hit her head against his shoulder, making sure to give the bandaged part a large berth. "People jus' never let me." He scoffed but didn't reply as he shouldered a door open, and they were met with the warm glow of a fireplace. She continued, "I can _always_ stand on my feet... Sometimes I jus' gotta have a few minutes ta catch my breath."

Farrah looked around the room with mild interest. It was simple, clean, and neat, with a few knick-knacks here and there. A helmet of some kind sitting on a desk, a staff or baton hanging up above the fireplace. High ceilings, and a perfectly made bed in the center of the room which Damian set her on.

"Reckon this is guest room..?"

"No," He replied simply as he pulled a few things from his pocket and set the on a small bedside table, "It's my room."

The redneck jumped up like something had bit her. "Dami, I can sleep on a couch er-"

"It's _fine_." He cut off with a roll of his eyes. "We're just _sleeping_, Bowman."

"Well, _yeah_," She gave a small, crooked smile, "But I'm a sleep snuggler... as you may or may not remember."

Damian snorted as he turned to look at the fireplace. "I do. But I don't mind _too_ much." He stifled a yawn before grabbing the bottom of his shirt and pulling it up over his head.

Now, two things struck Far, as she watched him take his shirt off: one, his torso was covered in _bruises_, and two... well... Damian was more muscular than she had thought. _Not_ that that was a bad thing.

The well-toned muscles in his back and shoulders rippled, and Farrah had to slap herself and vigorously shake her head to focus on her concern and stop drooling. Forcing herself to stare at the back of his head, she stuttered, "So, erm... You... _bruises_." Damian turned to face her, and she almost melted on the spot. _Gosh, he had some nice abs..._ "You have abs-ah-I-I mean, you-you have nice pec-err-I-I _meant_... You got... bruises, all up in 'ere."

The tip of his lips twitched up in a smirk. "I am aware."

_Oh God, he was killing her_. "I... Do you... Are you... okay...? You get in a fight, er..." She swallowed, "Maybe... maybe _Bruce_... he didn't-he doesn't... er anythin', did 'e...?"

He rolled his eyes. "No, my father is not abusing me, if that is what you're trying to say. I take a martial arts class." Farrah raised a brow. "_Several_ martial arts classes."

She blinked. "Well, that'd explain all the muscles..."

"Like what you see?" He smirked and glanced down, unconsciously running a hand across his tan stomach. The girl gave a weak grin in response and breathed a laugh.

"What dumb person wouldn't?" She asked dryly before shaking her head vigorously and leaning back into the bed, scooting over to the far end while Ari and Thor jumped up. Ari sprawled out on the girl's legs, a paw hanging off the edge of the bed, and Thor squirmed into her side, nuzzling Farrah's armpit before exhaling. "Any who... now ain't the time nor place: so _shut up_, shuttin' up, an' lay the hell down, Slick."

As the redneck stared up at the ceiling with her arms folded behind her head, she felt the bed dip from Damian's weight. "You're still upset." It was a _statement_, not a question.

"A lil', yeah," She mumbled, letting her eyelids slip shut, "I'm awlright, though."

Damian studied her scrutinizingly. "_Tt_. Bull shit."

She raised a brow but kept her eyes shut. "Do ya reckon...?"

"I don't _reckon_." He scoffed, "I _know_. You're easier to read than a book. You are _not_ alright. You're not quite as loud, and your smile isn't as large or genuine. I'm assuming you still think that his abduction is somehow your fault...?"

Her eyebrows furrowed together, but she kept still kept her eyes glued shut. "It _is_. An' I'm _not_ that daggon easy ta read!"

"Yes, you are." He countered dryly before continuing, "And it _isn't_ your fault, you know... To think otherwise is idiotic."

Not wanting to discuss the subject and being unable to properly explain without disobeying Charlie's request, she sighed heavily in defeat. "Whatever you say, Damian..."

The boy grunted and leaned back into the mattress. She heard him shift around a bit before he spoke, "Now, come here."

Peeking an eye open, she dared a glance. Much to her surprise, he had his _arms open_. "Wait, uh... Are you... offering to _hug?_"

"Would you prefer for me to ignore you...?"

"_No,_ no." She said quickly, shifting and squirming closer. Once she was within reach, Damian wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to his chest, ignoring Thor's disgruntled huff as he slid off of her stomach. Farrah blinked in surprise, but was more than happy to snuggle. "_Damn_. Never expected this, 'ere. _Not_ that I'm complaining er anythin', a' course..."

Farrah hummed as she rested her forehead on his chest, studying the tan skin in the faint glow of the fireplace. Some faint, pale lines criss-crossed his skin, along with some more recent, pink, and healing scars.

As she was starting to drift to sleep, a thought hit her. "_Caramel_."

Damian looked down at her oddly. "Pardon...?"

"Tha's what colour you are," She explained proudly. "I've been trying to think of a way ta describe it. It's kinda like a light, milky caramel." He raised a brow, and her cheeks warmed up as she tried to explain herself. "I jus', I mean... are you part... Indian er somethin'? I jus'... never got 'round ta askin', and I've been curious, an', uh..."

"Arabic." He answered amusedly as he watched her fidget and stutter.

"Right..." Farrah gave a curt nod as she traced some of the scars with the utmost and undivided attention to avoid his eyes. "'Kay. Sorry... I-I'm tired, it's been a long an' rather stressful day. I _swear_, I ain't crazy..."

"_Tt_. I know crazy," Damian said dryly, "Trust me. You are _not_ crazy." The girl gave a short grunt in acknowledgement, and he gave a wry grin. "A bit odd, maybe... _Well_, a _lot_ of odd, but still not crazy."

Choosing to ignore him, opposed to retorting, the redneck muttered a couple of obscenities under her breath and squeezed her eyes shut. Damian tensed for a moment, glancing down at her with a frown.

"We _will_ find him. _Stop being such a girl_."

She heaved a sigh. "Yeah... 'kay."

Damian's brows drew together and he exhaled heavily before stroking her freckled cheek and saying in a much more gentle tone, "We'll find him."

"Oh, I believe ya, Dami," She mumbled, "I'm jus' worried that when we _do_, it'll be too late..." Said boy stared at her for a few seconds before pressing his lips against her forehead in an attempt to comfort her.

* * *

**Author's note~**

**... Uh... *cough* Hey there. So... sorry. These last few weeks were... a bit ridiculous. I know it's not much of an excuse, and that you probably don't even want excuses so... Just... Sorry. There was just a whole lot of... a lot. A flippin' Virginia visit to see my crazy bro and my even crazier mom (who I'm slightly frightened of), and there was virginia beach, Captain George restaurants, cookies, drama between my bro and his (ex?)gf who's really cool, and cookies again, and drama between my mom (who I'm slightly afraid of) and my bro, and then sparkling cider bottles were thrown by my mom (who I'm still afraid of), and my mom (still scared of her) was threatening to hit my bro, and I had to get between him and her to avoid that (I was terrified), more screaming about cookies and shit, and that somehow ended up getting me and my bro kicked out by my mom (still scared), and then we were at the (ex?)gf's house for the rest of the visit, and there was a really cute, really big, really fluffy rottweiler/lab mix without a tail that liked to get into my lap even though she was probably heavier than I am and almost piddled on me multiple times because my bro scared her, and other (ex?)gf's of my bro, and then more unnecessary drama while I nonchalantly talked to the previously mentioned chick's friends and the really cool (ex?)gf about the weather (really fuckin' hot), Pacific Rim and Monsters University, and ice cream. And then temper tantrums from my bro, and fireflies, and more of my mom screaming and then her crying, and I just...**

**Dude, just... don't even read the above stuff. All you need to know that there was a lot of stuff going on. It makes my head hurt to think about, so I just try not to. Yeah...**

**Lesson learned, kiddies. Crazy is as crazy does. And don't pet the tailless dog that piddles.**

**Really tired, guiz, so I'm gonna cut this short. Tell me about mistakes and where, if you would be so kind as to help me out. Love you all, and I missed ya. Shit load of reviews all the sudden, yo, and it's all... algebraic. Let me love you after I sleep for too long.  
**

**Bear. ****ʕ´0`ʔ A _KOALA_ bear this time. WoOoOaAh**  


******,_ Blue_**


	12. Chapter 12

Two days. It's been _two days_ since Charlie had been taken. Farrah had moved past the upset stage, and was now _hell-bent and determined_ to help find her uncle.

The only problem... _no one wanted to let her_. And she didn't understand _why_...

The Captain Formula hadn't really done anything, save for giving her a one-night-stand stomach virus. And no one other than the dogs knew about her drinking it, much less about its _existence_... Did they think she would mess it up somehow...? Because _Hell_ no, she wouldn't. She'd rather jump off of a cliff than muck up the chances of saving Charlie.

And what made it worse; both Bruce and Damian were out there helping, along with Batman and Robin, trying to find her belovedly awkward uncle, and they expected her to just _sit around_ doing nothing! How could they expect that from her?!

Farrah made a disgruntled whine as she paced the floors. She had yet to call home; how could she? How could she tell them that Charlie had been abducted, and that his home had been ransacked? How would she be able to explain that it, _all of it_, was because of a small flask in a box at the bottom of her backpack...?

Ari gave a low whine as the girl continued to pace. Far barely even glanced at the dog as she faltered mid-step, only to turn to face her companion, kneeling down and cupping the Dane's large head. "How do I help...?" She asked the dog as she rubbed her velvety ear. "What could I do...?"

The dog cocked her head, tail giving a tentative wag, and Farrah jumped up suddenly as an idea struck her. She began pacing again as the gears in her head began turning. "Windhelm Avenue... Damian told me they caught a lead 'round Windhelm Avenue... What if'n I went there...? Took me a look see?" She looked at Ari for approval, only to make a face as the dog gave her a look that screamed '_no_'.

"I can blend in better'n the fancy-pants Wayne er the Dynamic Duo _any_ day!" She defended, turning to the other side of the room where Titus and Thor were sprawled out. "I feel better'n I've ever done did in my life! Healthier than an ox! I could do it!"

Thor gave a small, somewhat squeaky growl that ended in a whine.

The redneck huffed and waved him off, turning to look out the window. "Aw, _shucks_... What d'you guys know...? No offense, guys, but yer _dogs_. I can help... At least I won't feel _useless_." She leaned her forehead up against the glass and heaved a sigh. "What else could I do...? When _anyone_ needs help, I help 'em, but when it's my _uncle_, my own flesh an' blood, I'm told ta sit 'round like a princess in a tower...? _Naw_. That _ain't_ fer me."

Ari padded up to her and nuzzled her leg, another quiet whine escaping the dog as she nudged Farrah's hand.

_She all but melted_. "Awlright, awlright..." Far grumbled quietly, "Tell ya what... I'll bring a knife, an' I'll be _extra_ careful, okay?" Thor groaned from his spot on the floor, and she shot the young dog a look. "That's as much as I'm gonna bend, 'ere, Buck-o."

Giving a grunt, the young mutt rolled onto his back and stretched before drooping again.

"Well _fine_," She huffed. "I didn't want ta say bye, anyways, stupid hound..." She kneeled down to Ari and kissed the dog's nose, narrowly dodging a big, slobbery kiss before scratching the dog under her chin. "Be good. I'll be back in a jiffy."

As she turned and walked, reaching the door that led out of the room, Thor yiped and whimpered. The redneck rolled her eyes but turned and jogged to where the pup laid, mussing his ears before planting her lips against his forehead. "You be good, too, _mutt_. I'll be right back... Yer gonna be okay."

* * *

"You gonna be okay?" Jimmy, the taxi driver, asked from his rolled down window. "This isn't the _best_ neighborhood... I could take you back, if you want... Twenty percent reduction, just for you."

The redneck nodded, making sure the hood of her jacket was covering a good part of her face before making sure her knife was still strapped to her belt. "I'll see ya 'round." She said gruffly, trying and succeeding in making her voice lower. To anyone else, she would just sound like a boy who had a bit of a higher-than-average voice and a southern twang that she just _could not_ get rid of. Still rough enough to be somewhat intimidating, though... Chances were, she would get left alone.

Jimmy just shot her an unamused look before shrugging. "Alright. You're a good kid. Hope I don't see you dead on the newspaper tomorrow morning..." Farrah gave a small wave before turning and looking around the street from under her hood. There was a small group of people on the steps of a pretty crummy apartment building across the street that were eyeing her, but that was probably more because of the fact she had her hood up at night when it wasn't raining. _Hell_, if she were them, she would look at her cautiously, too.

She rolled her shoulders before turning into an alley. Taking a running start, she sprinted up a wall for a few seconds before gravity started pulling her back down, took the biggest jump she could from the wall, and grabbed the edge of the fire escape by three fingers each hand.

Once she pulled herself up, she took a two second breather before making her way up _eight sets of stairs_.

And it struck her, as she got to the roof of the building, that she wasn't even a _little_ winded. The girl gave a bewildered look as she put her hand on her chest, only to feel a steady, calm, _thump_... _thump_... _thump_. Her brows furrowed together. "What the everlivin' _fuck_...?"

She peeked over the edge and counted the amount of levels, _just_ to make sure that it really had been eight sets of stairs, only to straighten and stare blankly down at her legs. "_When did I get so fit?_" Her legs didn't answer, so she finally just shrugged. She's always had good stamina, so maybe it wasn't _so_ odd, she supposed. She just wasn't particularly fast... Which, really, wasn't a big issue, considering that she could run for a really long time. It kind of made up for the lack of speed.

Trotting over to the edge of the building that overlooked the street over. A considerable amount of warehouses were on the street just across from Windhelm Avenue, so she figured that might be a decent enough start, if a bit cliché.

To keep it short, that was a large portion of her night. About halfway through that portion, it started drizzling.

_Well, at least she had her hood_.

A _lot_ of waiting took place. A few people walked by. A guy spray painted a skull on the side of the largest warehouse.

Farrah shifted in place and rubbed her eyes before turning her gaze back to the street with a bored look on her face. Or rather, she did, until the black van with no back windows pulled slowly, inconspicuously to one of the smaller, crappier looking warehouses. It was a bit... _too_ inconspicuous.

Perking up and squinting to look at the van as the driver's side opened, a large man stepped out before walking to the back. Her lungs forgot to work as she pulled a small, foldable pair of binoculars from her back pocket and put them to her eyes with bated breath.

The large man pulled out a bag first. A _body bag_...

Then a long, awkwardly bent man was pulled out. It took all of poor Farrah's will not to scream. She knew that wild mop of reddish hair anywhere. _It was Charlie_. And he was weakly struggling! Which meant he was _alive!_

"Thank you, God," She breathed shakily, swallowing a lump in her throat as she glanced up into the raining sky, "Thank you, _sweet baby Jesus_..."

Another man came out the passenger side as the large one put Charlie into the bag and zipped it up, and the smaller one dragged it to the door of the warehouse. Farrah memorized the number of the warehouse to heart as Charlie, Cap', was pulled inside, before turning the binoculars back to the large man. He was rummaging around in the back of the van, and she _wasn't quite sure_ what he was doing. She focused the binoculars more as he pulled out what looked like a white mask of some kind, only to bite back a gasp.

"Holy shit, yer Isrann..." She muttered lowly. Everything from the russet skin, to the pointy beard, to the shaved head confirmed that. "From-from the daggon whatever it was... The court of hawks, er somethin' er other."

Isrann studied the mask in his hands before looking up, _directly at her_. His ageless eyes met hers, and she _swore_ she heard the screech of an owl as his lips twitched up in a smile. Not a '_oh hey, I just remembered that one joke_' smile, an '_I'm thinking about how I'm going to cook your bones in a nice stew_' smile. Her stomach jumped up into her throat as she leaped out of view, back towards where the fire escape was, landing flat on her back. She stared up at the raining sky, barely blinking with her eyes wide with fear.

He saw her... How did he _see_ her?! She was in the dark, blended with the inky blackness of the sky! He _couldn't_ have seen her!

Yet... her stomach twisted into knots as she saw his eyes staring directly at her in her head. And she _knew_, no matter how improbable it seemed... _he saw her_. And _he_ knew that _she_ knew that.

Farrah leaped up and ran to the fire escape, only to look down and see the smaller guy from the van at the bottom. Her stomach lurched as she turned tail and ran to the other side, where a shorter building sat too far away for comfort. It was two stories less than the one she was on, and the brief concern of broken limbs ran through her head just before she jumped off of the edge, limbs flailing, making it look like she was running on air to anyone watching.

For a few beautiful seconds, she felt safe while falling through the air. Like she was _flying away_ to a _better tomorrow_. But only for a few seconds. The roof of the building came all too soon, and she was a millisecond away from being to late to curl into a ball as she hit the cement. A sting of pain hit her shoulders, but she ignored it as she hopped back up and went down the stairs as fast as she could.

As she reached the bottom and jumped onto the ground, she took a second to glance back, only to bite back a cry as the man stood in front of the only exit. Her back hit a chain link fence that went up around seven or so feet, and adrenaline filled her veins.

The pupils of her eyes became pinpricks as she began sprinting to her pursuer, much to his surprise. His face flashed with concern as she neared him and he flinched, only to falter as she slid to a stop, mere inches away and turned her heel.

Getting a fairly decent running start, as she neared the fence, she jumped with _everything she had_, expecting to end up halfway up it...

But no... A yelp left her lips as she jumped almost completely over it, her shin getting caught in the top links. In her surprise, she didn't prep herself for the landing, and ended up tumbling and rolling on the cold cement, face first.

Farrah found that her lungs _just weren't working_ as she looked back at the fence with an absolutely _gobsmacked_ look plastered on her face as her eyes met an equally surprised man's. Towering behind the man was Isrann, who was unfazed and _unsurprised_.

Her mouth opened and closed a couple of times before she shot back up and sprinted away, mind in a frenzy as she raced through the streets.

Isrann blinked as the smaller man in front of him gaped. "_How_..._?"_

"It seems our dear friend has taken the solution." He rumbled thoughtfully as he folded his massive hands behind his back. He continued to stare at the spot the girl used to be.

The smaller man of African descent shook himself before readying to give chase. "She's not a fast runner. I'm going to-"

"_No_." Isrann growled lowly. "Let her go. Things are going exactly as planned, Azrell. _Exactly_ as planned..."

The man faltered. "I... _really?_"

"It is indeed." He hummed, turning on his heel. "Come. We have... _preparations_, to make." Thunder rumbled in the distance as the rain fell from the sky, steadily turning into hail as another flash of lightning spread across the clouds, so bright it looked like it was day time before a painfully loud crash sounded the air, making the very earth tremble beneath their feet.

* * *

Pea sized hail assaulted Farrah's back as she ran, but she didn't stop to find shelter. She couldn't waste the time to call up a taxi, so she settled with just running in the direction of where she knew Wayne manor was until she caught sight of one.

So she ran. She ran as hard as she could, slipping and skinning her knees often, tearing the denim of her jeans and soaking her even more than she already was. Blood mixed with rain and sweat, and the hail chilled her to the bone. But she kept running.

A countless number of thoughts and theories and fears ran through her head, but she pushed them back for now. Charlie needed her help, and she needed the influential power of one of the most, if not _the_ most powerful family in Gotham City. No one would believe a redneck from nowhere, but they for damn sure would believe a family of millionaires.

But still, despite the painfully distracting hail and current mission, an inkling of thought sat at the edge of her brain. She had jumped... almost _clear_ over a seven foot fence. That was _literally_ impossible unless one was Atlantean, Amazonian, Alien, or maybe just had one hell of a pogo stick. But she was neither, and sure as hell didn't even know _how_ to use a pogo stick, much less have one on hand.

So _how?_ She didn't know... the only thing she could think of was that she was either secretly part alien without ever having realized it, or it was the Captain Solution...

When she thought about, really, the last explanation was probably the one she was looking for. And the more she thought about it, the more logical it was. Charlie wanted to make something that would help the world. The solution had been pretty damn helpful. If that was the reason she could suddenly jump over _six fucking feet high_, she could understand why some group or some_one_ might ransack a home to get it.

And now that she thought about it, after that first night of being ill after drinking it, she felt better. Healed. And she _shouldn't_ have. It should have taken a few more weeks at the _least_ to get better, yet here she was... Healed, save for the recent scrapes and scratches. It didn't make her run any faster, but _hell_, jumping six feet in the air made up for that!

She slipped again and slid, knees and palms first on the asphalt... _Wait a minute_...

The girl faltered as she picked up a stray rock from the street. She looked back, only to realize that she was in the _outskirts of town_. "Reckon bein' distracted while runnin' really _does_ help." She panted lightly before dragging herself back up and continuing on her way, deciding that _damnit_, she needed to stop thinking and just focus on getting back to Wayne Manor before she ended up scraping what skin she had left.

Hell, she was running so hard, and paying so little attention on her surroundings, she ran _smack dab_ into the door. The wood jumped in place from the impact, as well as most of her bones. Stars circled above her head as the blunt force trauma made her head spin and ears ring.

She barely even noticed when the door opened and she got pulled in with unnecessary forcefulness.

"_Where in the hell were you?!_"

"Azduff out lookshin 'r Cap..." She mumbled dazedly, wobbling and wavering in place as the room spun. There was a guy in front of her, and she was _pretty sure_ it was Damian, but his face looked really blurred.

"Did... Was that bang from you running into the door...?"

Farrah nodded vigorously only to grimace as her head throbbed, eyes still wide as she tried to regain her bearings. Two more tall shapes came over as she leaned over and rested her elbows on her legs. "Aw shhhit... that... _ow_..."

"My _word_, madam, are you alright?"

She swallowed thickly and tried not to wobble as the room continued to spin. "_Maybe_... gimme a minute." She faced the floor for a moment before jumping up suddenly. "Dun have a minute!" She grabbed the nearest person by the collar, which happened to be Damian, and waved her arms around frantically. "Warehouse three-eighty-seven! Go-gotta get the cops, save 'im!"

Bruce frowned, brows furrowing together. "What...?"

"_Charlie_, daggon it!" She shot back, gesturing to the front door behind her. "The warehouse 'cross from Windhelm Avenue; that's where he is! _Go!_"

Alfred stepped closer and took her waving arm, studying her scraped palm. "_How_ would you know this...?"

"I _saw_ it!" She cried frustratedly, "Ain't none a' ya'll listenin'?! I saw Charlie get taken to three-eighty-seven!"

"She is soaked to the bone," Alfred mused, "As well as scraped, bruised; and she is most definitely going to be ill, if she is not yet. What _have_ you gotten in to...?"

Farrah's eye twitched and she grabbed Alfred by the collar, staining his pristine white collar with her bloodied palms as she spoke slowly, as though talking to a very slow, half deaf person. "_GET. CHARLIE. HELP. He is in three-eighty-seven._ Go!"

Bruce raised a brow. "I think she's not going to let it go until we go check... what was it, warehouse three-eighty-seven near Windhelm Avenue...?" He looked to her for confirmation.

"Yup." She confirmed.

"I'll go get some of my people to check it out, then," The large man said, amusement lacing his voice. He turned to a particularly pissed looking Damian. "Coming?"

"Not tonight, Father." He spoke through gritted teeth. Farrah shrunk at the tone of his voice, because she damn-well _knew_ her sounded like that because of her.

Bruce tried not to smile as he shrugged. "Suit yourself." He walked over to the front door, grabbing an umbrella and opening it before glancing back. "Try to go easy on her."

Far, poor, poor Far, sunk even more and hugged herself as Damian's piercing gaze turned to her. The boy scowled. "No promises."

Once Bruce was gone, Farrah looked to Alfred for help as Damian continued glaring. The butler gave a small smile. "Before you yell at her, young master Damian, allow me to see to her injuries." Said boy's eyes narrowed, but nodded, and Alfred turned back to the redneck. "Before I start, however, I must ask; how did you get back here...?"

"I ran." She mumbled, rubbing a scraped arm as she stared at the floor.

Alfred's brows rose in surprise. "From Windhelm Avenue...?"

"Yeah."

This time, Damian's eyebrows rose as well. "Are you joking?"

"No, sir." The two of them stared at her, and she fidgeted. "_What?_"

"You are aware that Windhelm Avenue is over twenty-one miles away, ma'am...?"

She blinked and gave Alfred a critical look. "Naw... _naw_." She scoffed and waved him off. "No way it was that far, Alfie. You two're pullin' my leg." The two stayed quiet as they stared, and she rolled her eyes. "_I_ know what this's about... You two're pissed at me for going off on my own at night in a ghetto, lookin' fer my uncle who's bein' held by people who're most probably right dangerous, so yer tryin' to pull a fast'un on me. It _ain't gonna work_. I _know_ there's no way that was twenty-some miles..." They didn't respond, and she blinked. "I... _right_...?"

Alfred finally shook free from his shock and studied her curiously. "My apologies, madam. I was simply not aware you were in such good shape..."

"_Neither was I_," She looked down at herself in surprise. "I... Shit, I should join a marathon. How long was I out...?"

"Six hours."

Farrah raised a brow. "Fer real...?" Alfred nodded and she bit her lip. "_Oh_... So... it's four in the mornin'?" The man nodded again, and she glanced at Damian. "You should prob'ly be in bed, Dami... Ya don't need ta worry; I ain't leavin' again er anythin'."

"_Tt_, I'm not stupid, Bowman," He raised a brow. "I'm well aware of what you're trying to do."

She blinked. "Wait... what am I tryin' ta do...?"

"Get out of being yelled at." He replied simply, like she already knew. Which, really, she didn't...

"Nuh-uh," She shook her head. "Yer overthinkin' it, bo'. I know I'm gettin' yelled at, regardless a' what I do... 'M jus' worried... you gotta go ta school tomorrow, don't you...?"

Damian rolled his eyes. "I can skip."

Farrah heaved a sigh but shrugged. "FIne, fine..." She looked back at Alfred. "So, what's the verdict, doc?"

The butler bit back a smile and held up his pointer finger. "Follow the tip of my finger." She did as he asked with no difficulty, and he hummed. "Well... I had assumed that you had a concussion, but... I suppose I was incorrect." He stepped back and observed her closely. "Is there anything particularly painful...?"

"Nope." She said, popping the 'p'.

"Then we're done."

Her eyes met Damian's. _His eyes looked like ice_. "Err... Are ya _sure?_"

"I am," He confirmed, letting a small smile take his features. "The scrapes and bruises will fade in time. And you will most likely be ill when you awake, but nothing I cannot handle, I can assure you. Now," He clapped his hands together. "I have a floor to clean, and you, a change of clothes to get in to. And then, I believe, a scolding from young master Damian."

"You believe correctly." Damian said dryly.

Farrah shrunk. _Oh God_...

* * *

"_That was so stupid!_"

The redneck heaved a sigh, rubbing her now damp hair with a towel as she made her way to the bed in freshly-changed pajamas. "Here it comes..."

"How could you _do_ that?!" Damian asked furiously, pacing in front of her.

"Very carefully..."

"You're not taking this seriously!"

Farrah rested her elbow on her knee as Thor sat by her feet and Ari curled around her. "No, I most definitely am. I'm jus' not upset 'bout it... I did what I thought was right," She defended quietly, "An' now Charlie's gonna get found, because a' it. So, I got a few scrapes an' cuts..."

Damian pinched the bridge of his nose. "You could have gotten _killed_ doing that, you _idiot!_"

"Charlie could've gotten killed if I _hadn't_." She reminded him.

"That's not the _point._" He glared.

She raised a brow. "Then what _is?_"

He exhaled sharply from his nose and turned away, running a hand through his hair as he clenched and unclenched his other hand. "The _point_ is that you just _left_. You didn't tell anyone-"

"You would a' tried ta stop me if'n I did."

"_Let me finish_." He barked before going quiet. "You didn't leave a note, or a text, and do you _know_ what I thought...?"

The girl shrugged. "I dunno, what _did_ you think?"

"_I don't know!_" He threw his arms up in frustration. "I didn't know! I had an _idea_ that you were out looking for Charles, but I just. Didn't. Know. What if you had gotten mugged again, only this time; you didn't get rescued. What if you had gotten shot? Or run over? What if you had _killed yourself?!_ There was no telling, and nothing to ease any of my fears!" His hands trembled as he tried to calm his anger. "God, why do I even _bother_ with you?!"

She flinched. She tried _not_ to, but... she did regardless. And even worse, _he saw it_. As she stood up, he stumbled; maybe to try and take it back, or apologize. Her face hardened. Honestly, she wasn't mad or anything... he had a good point, so how could she? But she didn't want him to know how much that one had _stung_... so, up the wall went. "I don't _know_ why..." She muttered, crossing her arms without realizing it, "But I ain't never asked you to. _You_ were the one who done went an' started bein' all buddy-buddy!" Farrah scowled. "I've been through hell 'n back - I didn't need you 'round _then_, an' I don't _now!_"

As she walked over to the door, dogs at her heels, she faltered and grimaced. _That was a little hash_... Refusing to turn around and look at him, she took a deep, calming breath. "Sorry... Didn' mean ta get hurtful, but..." She trailed off and rubbed the back of her neck. "Look, when things're all back ta normal, er... we-we can stop this... _this_. If ya want. It was never my intention ta worry ya, but I know it'll happen again, so... it-it's up ta you. Jus'... I'm jus' gonna go an' wait in the livin' room."

Farrah listened for a response, but heard none. She kind of wanted to turn around and apologize, but she also didn't... She felt bad for yelling, and when she felt bad for something she did, she avoided the person it affected. Not the best or most productive solution, but hey, it was _hers_.

So, when she shut the door to Damian's room, she all but _sprinted_ back to the living room.

And once she was in the living room, she more or less panicked. Just a bit...

The girl paced the floor despite the fact that it felt like her limbs were both filled with cement and light with adrenaline. Her hands visibly shook as she covered her face with her hands, grinding her teeth together with frustration and guilt.

Alfred, who was standing in the doorway, raised a brow. "Problem, ma'am?"

"_Yes_." She gestured to herself and grimaced. "I yelled at Damian."

The butler raised a brow. "And...?"

"And? _And?_" She made various hand motions. "_I yelled_. At _Damian!_ I don't _yell_ at people, _especially_ not ones I like!"

He cocked his head to the side. "I thought you said you just did...?"

Far pointed to him. "_Exactly!_ I _don't_, but I jus' _did_, an' now I feel _bad_ 'cause I prob'ly hurt his _feelin's_ and he didn' do anythin' ta deserve it 'cause all he really did was _worry_ 'bout me, even if 'e _did_ hurt my feelin's a lil' an' I jus' - I'm a terrible person, Alfie..."

"If you truly feel bad, perhaps you should apologize." He suggested lightly.

"Can't." She fidgeted nervously. "I can't..."

"Why ever not...?"

"'Cause..." The redneck gave a sheepish look. "I'm scared."

Alfred gave a small, amused smile. "So, you're choosing to do nothing?"

"Yes." She nodded in confirmation.

"That's rather... _counterproductive_."

Farrah shrugged, leaning down to lightly stroke Ari's head. "Probably," She agreed. "But, uh... I reckon I'll do it tomorrow. That's more than I usually do, so..."

He quirked a brow. "Is that so?"

"Yep." She rubbed her cheek. "I usually don't address the problem at _all_, so that should speak volumes... I like Damian a lot, but this place is daggon _crazy_." She shook her head and sighed. "I have this feelin' that this would work easier if'n _he'd_ moved ta where _I_ live. Err-_lived_."

"Easier is not always better," Alfred reminded her as he turned to dust a painting on the wall. "The things you must work for - put blood, sweat, and tears into - are more often than not, better... Figuratively speaking, of course."

The girl breathed a laugh. "Yeah... I reckon you got a point. An' hey, Alfie...?" She stared at the floor, glancing up at him occasionally. "Thanks fer listenin' ta me ramble a bit. An' sorry fer doin' it in the first place. Don't usually ramble on ta people; jus' the dogs or thin air."

"I can assure you that it is no problem, madam," He shot her a small, encouraging smile. "I am more than happy to listen and advise you." He shot the two mutts at her feet an almost _apologetic_ look. "Dogs don't give the best advice, I'm afraid."

It went quiet for a few minutes, before Farrah spoke up again. "Do... do ya reckon..." She trailed off timidly, rubbing her arm. "Did I... I did the right thing, right...?"

"You _believe_ you did the right thing."

She deadpanned. "But was it...?"

"What _is_ right or wrong?" He questioned.

"Rape is wrong." She answered dryly. "Murder is _usually_ wrong. Petty thievery, wrong."

Alfred glanced back. "Usually...?"

Farrah shrugged. "If yer starvin' an' steal an apple, that's justified. If someone tries ta kill ya an' you end up killin' _them_ tryin' ta defend yerself, that's defendable. I ain't sayin' it's right, but it ain't _completely_ wrong. Stealin' er killin' ta make a few bucks; _that's_ wrong. It all depends on the scenario, I reckon..."

"You could justify taking away a life?"

"Well, _yeah_." She scratched her chin, only to wince as she touched her scraped chin. The girl gave a grunt before dropping her arms to the side. "Again, I ain't sayin' killin' is _right_. I'm jus' sayin' that it isn't always one hundred percent _wrong_. An' it don't always make 'em a bad person, either. People make mistakes. We weren't made perfect. An' you never answered the question, Alfie. _Was I right?_"

The man gave a wry smile. "As you have just explained, madam, it depends on the scenario. And how it turns out."

She sighed and her shoulders slumped. He hadn't answered that like she had hoped he would... but, he also didn't answer as she'd feared, either, so that wasn't _too_ bad. "Dang, I hope Charlie's okay..."

* * *

After pacing the length of the room one hundred and thirty-seven times, she glanced over at Alfred, who was poised in one of the chairs reading with a cup of tea in a way that was so typically _British_. "How long's it been since Bruce left?"

The butler glanced at his wrist. "Just over two hours." The girl whined, and he raised a brow. "Perhaps you should try to find a way to relax...? Or maybe you would like to go upstairs and apologize-"

Farrah cut him off with a huff and stopped in front of another chair, sitting on the very edge and scratching the back of her head, leg tapping against the floor with unease. She stared at her hands for a moment, trying to think of a way to calm herself.

Her eyes lit up as she got an idea, and she began to strum an imaginary guitar. _Of course_, no noise came, but after a few minutes, as she continued to strum, she seemed to _melt_ and the way she was nodding her head and slightly swaying to a beat only she could hear, one would think there really _was_ a guitar in her lap.

Alfred watched her with mild fascination as she strummed and plucked away at the imaginary instrument. Her leg was still bouncing in place nervously, though, thankfully, with less fervor... He supposed one couldn't _completely_ be at ease in the situation she was in. Still... she got pretty close.

As she began singing quietly under her breath, her tapping gradually slowed, and the man gave a small smile before going back to reading

"_I'm lonely - Aging fast down the road_," Far sang, "_Only in my dreams, I'm hiding... 'Til I'm buried naked and old... I'm waiting. Watching. I see the world around... Forever reaching deeper for the li-ight~_" She started the next verse, only to freeze as Ari's head suddenly lifted, staring in the direction of the front door.

Her heart leaped in her chest, and she suddenly found it hard to breathe as she heard the door open. Nobody spoke as Bruce came around the corner, looking tired, but content.

Before he even went around the corner, Farrah knew he was there and was already on her feat, swallowing thickly.

And then... there he was. He certainly looked worse for wear... The whole right side of his face was swollen and bruised. His nose had been broken. His hair was even _more_ dishevelled than usual. And he made slow, limping strides...

But it was, undeniably Charlie.

Tears were running down her freckled cheeks before she even knew it, but even when she did, the girl found that she _really_ didn't give a damn. She darted across the room faster than she'd ever gone in her life, and before Charlie could even take a breath to speak, she was hugging him and trying to stifle sobs as buried her face in the tall man's chest, trembling like a chihuahua in Alaska.

Charlie froze for a second before relaxing and wrapping his arms around her with a barely audible sigh.

"Yew _idiot!_" The words came tumbling out before she could stop them. All the hurt and anger came gushing out. "Bloody bastard... Ah thought yew were _dead!_"

"I-I know." He mumbled quietly, apologetically. "I'm sorry..."

She sniffled. "_Toast_... thought you'd become _Charlie nuggets_... What was Ah s'posed ta tell pa if yew hadn't turned up?!" She pulled away long enough to lightly hit his shoulder before squeezing him again. "Yer an _ass_, Cap."

The man gave a small smile, despite the fact that it hurt, and hugged her a little tighter. "I know..."

Farrah had a thick lump in her throat, making it hard to talk, but she _forced_ it down. At least long enough to tell him... "_Ah love ya_, Charlie."

Charlie's less swelled eye widened, and he looked down at her in surprise for a second before his smile widened as he lightly patted her shoulder. "I... I love you, t-too. I'm sorry...

Right then, the both of them knew that they were due for a very _long_ talk. But not yet.

First, they would revel in the fact that the other was now safe and sound.

* * *

**Author's note~**

**Alright, _here_ we go. Another chapter, and early, too... to make up for the fact that I hadn't updated in... three, four weeks for the previous chapter. And as an added bonus to my little 'I'm sorry I disappeared off the face of the earth for almost a month', I'll give an itty bit of a spoiler: Isrann, and the new guy, Azrell? They're coming up in the next one. And that's it :P**

**So, I love all of you. I just hit one hundred reviews! Woot woot! Thanks for putting up with all my shit, guiz! ILU all!**

**Alrighty... As always, let me know if I made any mistakes, other than Farrah's silly redneck accent, and I hope my goofy little tale made you smile :) Or, at the very least, you didn't _hate_ it. I know, Damian and Far fought in this one and such, but, c'mon._ It's Damian_. Fights are a given, at _some_ point.  
**

**Also, heads up, school starts soon. So... Updating may be delayed by a bit, if that happens. Or, it may be increased, depending on my classes. *shrug* Ya never know, yo.**

**Bear with me, guys! ****ʕ´ᴥ`ʔ**  


******, _Blue_**

******_Oh!_ And I forgot to mention, those few lyrics she was singing are from this song called 'Blacksong' by Jorn. That's the kind of music she would listen to... Old rock like Dio and Dream Theater and Jorn and such. Just in case any one cared... _Kbye._  
**


	13. Chapter 13

"You... you drank some of the Captain Formula, didn't you?"

The tips of Farrah's ears turned red. "I, uh... I... _yeah_, I did." Charlie studied her curiously for a moment, pausing the movie (_Gladiator_) they had been watching. Far rubbed the back of her neck and averted her eyes to the floor.

Instead of berating her, as she had expected, he simply hummed. "I-I thought you did."

She blinked and looked up. "Wait, _what?_ You ain't gonna yell at me...?"

The man rubbed his arm sheepishly. "Well, I d-did as well, so... so that would-would be rather hypocritical..." As she gaped at him, he fidgeted nervously. "Have you taken a good look at yourself since you've taken it?" She shook her head, and his lips twitched up. "Well, you-you should."

Her head tilted to the side questioningly, but he simply motioned for her to go, so... she did. She got up and padded through the now-fixed apartment to the bathroom and looked in the mirror.

At first, she didn't notice anything different. Her freckled mug looked the same as it always did, save for the quickly fading scrapes and cuts...

_Then she noticed her arms._

Now, they weren't ripped like the She-Hulk or anything, but they were noticeably more muscular. Not noticeable in the painfully obvious sense, really, because she'd always been more muscular than the average girl from the farm-work and wrestling and the occasional weekend spent helping her uncle build a new porch for ten bucks; more in the way that you notice a freckle that had never been there before.

Farrah lifted her shirt. "_Holy crap, I have abs!_" She screamed down the hallway in a rather child-like excitement as a goofy grin crossed her face. They weren't really cut, but you could see the faint line down the middle, and _that was never there before_. The girl gave a laugh that bordered on being manic as she came to a realization, bounding out of the bathroom and into the living room, where Charlie and the animals were stretched out.

She pointed at him as she beamed, "_You!_ You made that stuff! That stuff they used on Steve Rogers ta make 'im Captain America only without the claustrophobic case thingy! You-_you!_ Yer a rate-A genius! A regular Tony Stark!" She faltered. "No, wait... yer _better_ than Tony Stark!"

Charlie's face turned bright red (making an odd mix of black, blue, and red) and he jumped at her, covering her mouth with his hand. "D-do you want the e-_entire_ apartment complex to-to hear you...?" She gave a muffled apology against his hand, and he cracked a small smile. "It-it's all right..."

The girl's eyes suddenly widened, and she pried his hand off with a hushed whisper, "_That's why Isrann wanted it so daggon bad!_"

He grimaced and gave a curt nod. "Again, it's not perfected, but... but even as-as is, it could create one of, if not t-_the_ most _powerful_ army..."

"An' the controller of the army could take over the world!" She finished with a flourish.

The man gave a wry smile and rubbed his neck. "That might be a bit... _rambunctious_, but... _yes_. The p-potential is there."

Her brows suddenly furrowed as she studied him curiously. "So... is that why they done went an' tried ta kidnap you...?" Charlie gave a curt nod, and she lightly kicked the ground as he fiddled with his fingers.

"Listen, Farrah... I-I've immensely enjoyed the time you've spent here, but... perhaps-perhaps we should try and see if you can go back home to Ludo-"

"_No_." She said bluntly, crossing her arms and shooting him a look. "You ain't gettin' rid a' me, Cap. Things're gettin' a lil' testy right now, an' I _do_ miss my kin folk, but I ain't leavin' ya." He opened his mouth to protest, and she shot him a glare. "Do you know what in sam hell's gonna happen if'n I head off? Yer gonna go right back ta sittin' in the dark, forgettin' ta eat half the time, alone. You _need_ me, an' I won't leave ya. That _ain't_ my way."

Charlie heaved a sigh and ran a hand through his messy mane. "I've lived _years_ on my own. _Without you_. I'll be fine." His eyes shot to the ground. "I will admit: I like it better _with_ you here than without you, but I don't _need_-"

"_Bull shit!_" She barked. She poked him in the chest with no amount of gentleness. "I wasn't gonna mention this at _all_, but; if'n it weren't fer me, you'd still be held captive by those sons a' bitches! _I_ was the one out there keepin' an eye out fer ya, _I_ was the one who memorized the warehouse number, _I_ was the one who ran all the way back ta Wayne manor an' got help!"

He opened his mouth, only to falter. "I... you ran the whole way back to Wayne manor...?"

Her ears suddenly burned. "Well... _yeah_. I couldn't afford to stop an' call an' wait fer a cab. I _also_ couldn't afford a cab, period... _miscalculated durin' the math an' such_."

The man leaned back, eyebrows raised with surprise. "I... I didn't know that. I-I knew about everything else, but... I didn't know _that_."

Farrah harrumphed and looked him right in the eye. "I ain't leavin'. Not now, _not yet_. You'll have to drag me kickin' an' screamin'."

Charlie finally exhaled heavily and turned. "Just-just give me a second to think..." She stayed quiet, and he paced the floor a bit, face making several different emotions as he thought and mumbled and muttered to himself.

Seconds felt like hours, and minutes felt like _ages_. The man paced, while she stood there and shifted awkwardly. And the longer it took, the more Farrah's insides twisted and turned with nervousness because _technically_ he _could_ make her go back, being her guardian and such... and the more she nursed that thought in her head, the more she realized that he probably _knew_ that, too.

_Fuck_. She swallowed thickly and wrung her hands, shooting concerned looks at her patiently waiting dogs. _And what of them...?_ Would her mom or pop let them in the house...? They _were_ trained now... but they also needed to be taken out in the middle of the night, as they were still getting used to holding it...

They were making more and more progress every day, but her dad still probably wouldn't like that... Her mom might not mind, if she brought a knife of sorts or something in case a creeper happened to be roaming the property at night, and Buck the horse or Daisy the guard goat didn't get said creeper. And maybe if she reminded them that Thor and Ari would be with her the whole time...

Finally, heaving a sigh, Charlie glanced over at the waiting girl. "Well," He began slowly, "I'm not sure I would be able to drag you to the train station..." Her lips twitched up in a hopeful smile as he scratched his stubble. "So, I suppose you can stay... so long as you don't mention this to my brother until I can think of a reasonable explanation."

"_YES!_" She whooped and beamed as she ran over and lifted him in the air with a hug, going as far as to twirl him. Thor let out a bark, just to add his two cents, as Charlie smiled and awkwardly patted her back. She grinned as she set him down. "You're _awesome_."

The man blushed. "I-I... Thank you...?" He shifted in place, eyes darting back to the TV. "Now... can-can we go and resume the movie...?"

"Yeah," She chuckled and walked back over to the couch, hopping over the back to the cushion. "I still can't _believe_ ya never saw _Gladiator_ 'fore... it's a classic!"

He shrugged as he settled into the couch next to her, resuming the movie. "I-I've never had the time..."

Farrah harrumphed. "Well, tha's _shitty_. From now on, yer gonna take a break three times ev'ry week, an' we're gonna watch a movie."

"Yes-yes ma'am." He gave a small, mock salute and a tentative smile before turning back to the TV.

As they got to the part where Maximus was put into the coliseum to fight the tiger dude, a curt knock came from the front door. Charlie and Farrah shared a look as the movie was paused. After a few seconds of looking at each other and another knock, the girl heaved a sigh and motioned for him to unpause it.

"Go ahead; I saw this 'un ten times. I got the door." His brows drew together in concern, and she waved off his concern with a snort. "C'mon, cap... It's the middle a' the day. I's probably a neighbor er somethin'. As a matter a' fact, I'll bet ya five bucks I'm right." The man made a face but gave a nod.

So, the girl stood up, promptly told the mutts to _stay_, and trudged to the door. She opened it, only to meet a large, suit-covered torso. Her eyes trailed up to the face, only to grimace. Ageless eyes met hers.

"I... I owe ya five bucks, Cap." She called, only to yelp as something hard hit her upside the head. Everything went black.

* * *

Farrah's head lolled to the side as she regained consciousness. She heard a chair screech back her eyes adjusted to the rather dark room. Her eyes met honey brown ones, and she blinked.

The man blinked back, looking at her with an unsure and almost _frightened_ look on his face. "_You're awake_. So soon... you must come from hardy stock."

She looked around with a groggy tiredness. "I do," She confirmed slowly. "Long line a' farmers, ranchers, an' the occasional soldier." She shook her head vigorously in an attempt to clear it, only to grimace as her head throbbed. _Why couldn't she focus...?_ "'Ey, listen, buddy, answer me this; you ain't plottin' ta kill me, are ya...?"

He looked like he wasn't sure if he should laugh or grimace. "_No_, we have no intention of killing you."

"'Kay, good." She slowly nodded as she studied him closely, slowly but surely gathering her bearings. And, well... what she recalled, didn't make the whole situation seem better... So, she ignored it for the moment and turned all of her attention on the man in front of her. He was a shorter-than-average guy, with ebony skin and closely cropped lighter brown hair. "'Nother question, if'n you don't mind. _Who're you...?_"

"My name is Dominique Azrell." He tried to give a friendly smile, but it only turned out nervous.

Far nodded again as her gaze turned cautious. "Awlright, Dom, nice ta meet you." She tried to move her arms from behind her back only to realize they were tied. She forced herself to remain calm and carefully polite. "Hate ta be rude, right, but you said '_we_' earlier. As in, there's _more_..." She craned her neck to look up and around. _Single floor_... _or a basement of some sort_. "So... who's '_we_' exactly...?"

"The Court."

The redneck made a face. "You wouldn't happen ta be talkin' 'bout '_The Court of Owls,_' would ya...?"

He made a face right back. "I'm afraid I am..."

"Oh. Oh, _great_..." She let her head drop with a huff as a bubble of anger and exasperation mixed with a twinge of fear burst through her. She laughed loudly and without humor. "_Great!_ This is awesome. _This is awesome!_" She let out a yell of frustration as she struggled against her binds. "_FUCKIN' AWESOME_."

She continued to struggle for a bit while her anger streamed out, making various growls and curses under her breath. She paused for a moment, and Dominique fidgeted with his shirt. "Are you done yet...?"

Farrah turned her gaze to him with an _extremely_ unamused look. "Actually, _no_." She let out another scream, filled with anger to cover the fear before stopping and shooting him a look. "Awlright... _now_ I'm done."

He winced. "Oh no... you're a dry-humored one... I would suggest trying to bite your tongue."

"_Bite me_."

"I'm trying to _help_ you," He told her quietly. "If you don't, they'll _beat_ it out of you. We can't have our Talon saying quips while doing our work; we're not looking for a NightWing. It would be best if you just didn't, _please_..."

She faltered, studying him cautiously. From what she could tell, he sounded _genuinely concerned_. The girl suddenly straightened. "Wait, _what?_ Talon?"

Dominique started to answer her inquiry, only to get cut off by a voice so deep and rumbly, one would think it came from the ground. "Yes, _Talon_. That's _exactly_ what and who you are now."

The massive man that was Isrann, stepped from out of the shadows, taking long strides until he towered over Far. "Normally, we do this differently, but... Ever since the Wayne's came out and about with this superhero nonsense and upturned our operation, we can't do this traditionally."

A spike of fear jumped up as her eyes met his. She hid her fear behind a snort. "_Tradition_, he says... What a _joke_."

"There _is_ no joke," He rumbled, a hint of impatience in his voice, "_You_ have been chosen. You are now burdened with glorious purpose."

She raised a brow. "Wow, watch _The Avengers_, much? You _would_ quote Loki..."

Isrann stopped and leaned in close, so close the edge of his spiked beard tickled her chin. "You are going to have an _astoundingly_ horrible time being reshaped, little Talon."

Farrah's mouth suddenly turned dry, and she said the first insult she could think of. "_Yer face_..." If her hands weren't bound, she would have slapped her palm to her forehead. She could usually do better than that...

The massive man's lips twitched. If she didn't know any better, she'd say he was repressing a smile as he stared at her condescendingly. "Surely you can come up with better...?"

She stared at him blankly for a moment before blinking and scowling. "_Tt_. You ain't _worthy_ a' my good insults. So kindly _piss off_."

Leaning back, the man gave a low chuckle. It made her blood turn to ice. "Such _spirit_. Such _fire_... I _almost_ don't want to break you. Almost."

The redneck had to ground her teeth together to keep from whimpering.

* * *

**Author's note~**

**Another early one, because I still feel like a douche-nozzle for leaving everyone hanging for a month. It's a bit short, but the next one will be longer. Expect... kind of gruesome, gut-twisty-ness. Cuz that's _probably_ what's going to happen. Probably. I don't really have the plan yet, so it could go into an entirely new direction then what I have in mind. Just sayin, yo...**

**So, a big big BIG thanks to the readers. For putting up with me. For putting up with my chaoticly scheduled updates. For putting up with a danger-prone redneck that swears a lot and has a silly accent as the main character. Y'know... the usual. Even if you don't like my story, thanks for giving it some of your time. ILU GUIZ. I got a poem in one of the reviews. Loved that :D thanks**

**Let me know if I made any mistakes in and or around here, and as always, I hope my goofy little story made you smile :) That's the goal, yo. Though... the last part might not have done that. And, _fair warning_, the next one most likely won't have you smiling either. So... _yeah_. **

***DUDe! I FORGOT THE BEAR. ****H****ow could I forget that?! Yeesh... Sorry guys, bear with me ʕ´ᴥ`ʔ I have my first day of school tomorrow and my nerves are frazzled.  
**

**, _Blue_**


	14. Chapter 14

Farrah didn't know _how_ long she'd been tied up by the wrists, hanging mere inches from the ground. _Too long_... she couldn't feel her limbs anymore, but she didn't dare move. Her wrists had been rubbed raw within the first _hour._ She didn't know how much time had passed, but she _did_ know that her wrists were probably covered in blood...

It really was maddening... _If only she could get her feet on the ground_. The girl grimaced to herself in the dark as she thought about it...

Maybe it _was_ best couldn't... If she could, she would probably fall flat on her face. All her limbs had fallen asleep _long_ ago. Not to mention the fact that she _really_ had to take a leak...

The girl shifted, only to grit her teeth as she bit back a whimper, tears welling in her eyes. She _refused_ to cry. She would _not_. She was sure they were somewhere in the darkness... waiting, watching, ready to attack with any sign of weakness...

If she hadn't been afraid of moving and digging the rope deeper into her flesh, she would have shaken her head vigorously. Instead, she settled with just drawing her brows together. _What the hell_..._?_ That had been an... _odd_ thought. When did she get so paranoid...?

Shrugging in her head, she huffed. It was probably from being in the dark for so long, with her arms all soaked with her blood. That was _sure_ to mess with her mental stability a bit... Not as much as it _could_ have been, though, and she was thankful for that... at the ripe age of fifteen, she had still been afraid of the dark. If she had still had that stupid fear... _whew_, that would have been a mess.

And the silence, that didn't do much to help her. It was so quiet, it was _loud_. Her ears screamed from the lack of noise, and the constant ringing was starting to unnerve her. If only there was something, _anything_ to fill the black...

"Far? Why are..." The child's voice hesitated, searching for the right word, "Why are you crying?"

She froze. _Holy shit... _was she crazy, or was that Barry...?

For a brief moment, the girl panicked at the thought that Barry, _her_ Barry, sweet, innocent, food-protective, giggly Barry who was still afraid of the dark and demanded to be read the Zombie Survival Guide every night at bedtime by her and _only_ her, was there... well, it sent her into a frenzy. She struggled against her binds with a new-found fury, not even feeling the acute pain in her wrists.

Then she remembered that, if Barry _was_ really there, he wouldn't sound so calm. He was _terrified_ of the dark. And it was very nearly pitch-black in her little room. But she _swore_ she'd heard...

"Far? Don't cwy..." Her head lifted again, and despite the fact the it strained the ropes around her wrists, moved forwards to try and listen. "I thought adults don't cwy...?"

Her brows furrowed together. "I'm not... I'm not cryin'..." She licked her lips, only to jerk as she tasted salt. She rubbed her wet cheek against her arm, only to blink. "Huh... reckon I am." The girl gave a laugh that lacked humor. "Well'p. There's that, then."

"Far...?"

She squeezed her eyes shut. "This ain't... you ain't real. I'm jus' hallucinatin', you _ain't_ here..."

"_Are you mad at me?_ I'm sowwy..."

If she weren't hanging up from the ceiling, she would have started rocking back and forth. A tremor wracked her body, and she ground her teeth together. _Okay_... so, she was hallucinating... That's okay. _She_ was okay...

Finally, she exhaled heavily. "No... no, I ain't mad at'cha, baby." The voice didn't respond, and she couldn't help but feel a spike of disappointment because _damn_, even if the voice wasn't real, she sure would have appreciated the company... She'd been there far too long, and hadn't even been let down to _relieve herself_. It would have been nice to have something to distract her from the fact that she _really had to piss_.

The girl heaved a sigh and let her head drop to stare at the ground. She was pretty sure she knew what they were doing... They were trying to _break_ her... and once she was broken, they would mold her to be whatever they wanted her to be...

Well, _tough_. She lifted her head to glare into the darkness. "_You ain't breakin' me_. Jus' know that..."

No one answered, and she bit back another sigh.

"_When there's lightning... you know it always brings me down_." She sang quietly, in an attempt to keep her spirits up. "'_Cause it's free, and I see that it's me who's lost and never found. I cry out for magic. I feel it dancing in the light... It was cold; lost my home to the shadows of the night_."

Farrah didn't think she'd done anything wrong, _but she must have_, because before she could even open her mouth again, a loud crack sounded and a red-hot line of pain went down her back. The force jarred her forward, and a scream built up in her throat, only to die from pure will.

Her eyes watered, and it was probably running down her cheeks like a stream, but _hey_, she wasn't screaming...

Swallowing thickly, she ground together to keep whimpers from escaping. Her nostrils flared as she breathed heavily through her nose.

"Done...?" A voice mocked. It was unfamiliar, but she immediately vowed to forever hate the owner of the voice. The voice was as smooth as velvet, sultry, and arrogant. _It made her blood boil_.

"_Piss off_." Farrah growled.

The voice sniggered, and she felt hands gently touch her shoulder, mockingly caressing her face from behind. "You should have stayed quiet," The voice purred, breath hitting the back of her ear. Farrah kept her face forward, stony-faced and determined. The owner of the voice _probably_ didn't like that... the mere thought made a her wiggle her toes in satisfaction. "_Oh_, you're a determined one, aren't you, _niña_...? _I'm going to enjoy whipping you_."

She shivered, despite trying her hardest not to, and the voice chuckled. "You and I are going to be seeing _quite a lot_ of each other... _get used to it_." A scoff. "Not that you have a choice..."

_Craack!_

The force jerked her forward, adding to the pain from her wrists. She no longer cared about not moving, and grabbed her shirt's collar between her teeth. Ever muscle in her body clenched.

_Crack!_

Another brief pause, and the redneck found herself wondering just _when_ things had gotten so complicated.

_Crack!_

What had she done...? Why was God abandoning her...?

_Craack!_

A whimper escaped her, but she couldn't bring herself to care too much. _Why couldn't they just kill her?!_

_Crack!_

A sharp cry left her lips. Her hands were clenched so tight, her nails were digging and breaking the skin of her palms. A wave of shudders came over her as the voice laughed.

_Craack!_

Another loud yelp, and as she tensed up for the next strike, a voice, different from her tormentor's, screamed out. "_That's enough, Joel!_"

The voice from behind her, _Joel_, apparently, gave a short grunt as a dim light turned on. It wasn't much of an improvement, really, but the subtle light change still made her flinch. A blurry figure rushed over, and it took Far a minute to realize that he was blurry like that because tears were spilling like a river. And she also realized that she had soiled herself sometime during the whipping... _Great_...

The blurry figure, Dom, she assumed, cut her ropes, and she dropped to the ground in a slump. As she whimpered and squeezed her eyes shut, cradling her hands to her chest, Dom kneeled in front of her.

"Hey, hey," The man said gently, "It's okay..."

Her eyes shot open and she glared. "_He whipped me!_ I _literally_ pissed myself! It _ain't_ motherfuckin' _awlright_, Dom!"

Said man winced and gave a small nod. "I... _I know_... I-I _tried_ to tell them, it would be better if we were kind, rather than cruel, but... they wouldn't listen." He pulled a backpack she hadn't ever noticed was there off, and pulled out a small box. "They... they still won't, but-but I managed to convince them to let me tend to your wounds, if just this once."

"Ah jus' wanna go home..." She sniffled. "_Please_... Ah won't ever tell anyone, Ah jus'..." Her voice cracked, and she stopped, shaking her head to herself.

The man gently pulled her hands from her chest and began cleaning it, wincing when she hissed in pain. "I know... I'm sorry," He muttered, "But you can't... it _is_ for a good purpose. You are to be the gray of the city."

Biting back a wince, her eyes flicked up to his. "What d'you mean...?"

"It _means_," He told her as he pulled out some gauze and wrapped it around her raw wrists, "That you will end the black and the white of the city. But before you become what is needed, you must endure what we put you through... It's humiliating, it's raw, it's painful, but I _promise_... the end justifies the then, it will be easier if you just stay _quiet_. Don't retort, _don't_ sing. For _both_ our sakes, just _don't_... I don't want to see you like this, anymore than you want to go through it. Will you?"

"It-it'll be easier...?" Farrah asked shakily. When he nodded, she exhaled heavily. _She wasn't getting out of this anytime soon..._ "I... I will. I'll cooperate."

Dom sighed in relief. "Thank you... I-I'll try to make things as easy as I can for you..."

As he pulled something else from his first aid kit and went to work on her throbbing, burning back, she muttered to herself, "I _will_ make it through this. I'm gonna live. _I will_..."

* * *

_Voices_.

By God, she was starting to hate them...

Every day, _every_ day, the voices of family, friends, people that had _any amount_ of impact on her life, talking to her, trying to keep her going in their own ways... _She wondered if they knew that _they _were the reason she was still going through this_. That _they_ were the reason she hadn't been given her regenerative abilities yet.

Farrah paused a second too long to dodge the incoming knife as Robin scoffed in her head. "_You can do better than that_." The blade embedded itself into her her shoulder with a _thunk!_ The girl simply gritted her teeth and pulled it out before continuing. She didn't dare talk back...

From what Dominique had told her, she had been training for around four months... so, it was near the middle of January, then.

She had been told that, other than the voices that she _still_ heard, she was ready. Granted, she wasn't the most _stealthy_ Talon they had ever had, but she was efficient. _Their words_, not hers.

The girl could still remember when she had reached the heavy, tall doors, and the struggle to open them... It had been worth it, though...

A pristine room, with spotless white walls and, in the center, a pure white statue that towered over her, with water trickling out of it's beak and into a pool of water. She had scrambled to the pool of crisp, clear water, clothes in tatters and fresh scars crisscrossing on her skin. And as she drank the water, they came.

A group of people, in suits and the tell-tale white masks that were vaguely shaped like an owl's face. The words they said to her blurred together when she tried to remember, but she knew she had agreed. _How could she not?_ They would surely kill her if she didn't.

Now, she bided her time, training for what she knew was to come when the goddamned voices finally stopped. The _big_ mission. The one that would prove her worthy of getting the Talon's regenerative abilities. She didn't know when it was coming, but she couldn't imagine it taking _too_ long.

Yes, Farrah had let them mold her into what they wanted to be. She realized that, but... _it didn't bother her_. Dominique hadn't lied, it was easier that way. Quiet, obedient, emotionless, and ruthless. It was what she had to do to survive their 'conditioning'. She was all but done... she just needed to get the voices to stop... and once they did, she... she wasn't really sure _what_ they were going to do to give her the renowned regenerating abilities. She didn't ask.

Not that it was _absolutely crucial_ that she get them. The Captain Solution sped up her healing factor considerably. Injuries that would take a month to heal would do so in a _week_. The darkest of bruises faded in days at most, hours at the least. She just had to avoid getting killed, and really, she could go without it... She still _wanted_ it, of course... Being a Talon came with it's risks. Hell, being _groomed_ to be a Talon came with it's risks; _especially_ with Joel as her... _conditioner_. Two times, they'd had to stop it completely because she had been on the brink of death. One of the times, the first one, she had gotten that bad on purpose... She had _wanted_ to die... Luckily, it wasn't that hard to get that bad with Joel, so it didn't look intentional.

Either way, it didn't matter, because she had failed. _That_ had been when she finally, completely and wholly, gave in. That was when the voices stopped being what pulled her through the timeless days, and when they became a nuisance.

_Another close call_. A knife whizzed right past her face, very nearly slicing her cheek open. _Damnit_, she had to _focus!_

Finally, Joel ran out of knives to throw. Farrah slid to a stop and glanced down at her shoulder as he waltzed over.

Joel. Her tormentor. The one who had forced her through so much, the one that made her learn to hold her tongue, and now, her trainer. God, she had _hated_ him... not anymore, though. Granted, she would never _like_ him like she did Dominique, but he was an ally. Now, it was _him_ who patched her up.

He was a lean man of hispanic descent. She didn't know where he came from _exactly_, she'd never asked, but he had a smooth, almost _flirty_ way of speaking. Neatly trimmed black hair and light brown eyes with pale mocha skin. And he was _so_ proud of all the scars he gave her. _Sick_. But an ally. Never a friend.

Joel smirked as she moved towards him. "Too slow, _niña_... Always too slow. Let me patch you up, then..." He lead her to the nearby table and grabed a needle while she pulled off her shirt and resisted the urge to shudder. He'd never been gentle with stitching, like Dom was. As a matter of fact, she was _pretty_ sure he made it hurt on purpose. Digging in deeper than necessary and pulling the string harder than he had to...

"You have a mission today, _poca garra_," He informed her. "So try not to mess with the stitches. I'm quite sure you don't want me to do them again, _sí?_" She gave a curt nod. Not a disrespectful one, mind you... she had learned to avoid disrespecting them _long_ ago. But she still wouldn't lie... Luckily, her response _amused_ him, rather than angered him. Not that she expected otherwise... he already knew he wasn't her favorite person in the world; she didn't need to say it. And she was pretty sure it gave him a sick satisfaction, knowing that.

"Who is it?"

Joel shrugged as he finished up, wiping away the blood with a small towel. "_No se_. Ask Isrann, when you get geared up and ready. He's waiting. You know where."

Farrah nodded and threw her shirt over her shoulder before turning on her heel and walking out.

As she was walking, she heard Damian's voice. "_What are you doing_, Bowman?! You are going to _kill_ someone!"

She couldn't help but talk back in defense. Luckily, no one was around to hear her... She didn't want to talk back, she knew it only _egged the voices on_, but she _still_ hated the thought of them being upset with her, disembodied voices or not... "It's what I have to do."

"You don't have to do _anything!_" He spat back. This time, she didn't risk replying. "Ignoring me again, you coward of a redneck..?" It went quiet for a while again as she walked to her small quarters and pulled her shirt off. His voice came back, much softer this time. "You're better than this, Farrah... _Don't_."

She froze for a second before beating down her emotions. She bit back a grimace and stayed quiet, only to be rewarded with sweet, guilt-free silence.

The girl sighed silently before starting to bind her chest.

It wasn't _necessary_ that she bind her chest; so long as they got the job done, The Court didn't care _how_ she looked, so long as she stayed within the requirements... But she still did. Less of her to hit, less wind resistance, and what not. It didn't seem practical...

As she slipped into the jet-black suit, Damian spoke up again. "Bowman?"

She stopped, eyes glued to her hands.

"_I miss you_."

Farrah ground her teeth together and finished what she was doing, strapping on her armor. The scarred owl face on her chest glared at her as she put on one of her bracers.

When she was done, she grabbed her weapon. A warhammer that was shaped like (_of course_) an owl. Isrann had recommended something lighter, smaller, but she had insisted upon the hammer. With it, her hits were slower, but heavy. Just like when she fought with her fists. It was comfortable.

Her thoughts strayed back to Damian as she put her hammer in the specially made holster on her back, and she punched the wall on the way out, face still blank as she left a hefty dent in the metal.

_She was going to feel that and regret it, later..._

* * *

Damian scowled, brows narrowing under his mask as he threw another hard punch at the tied-up mugger. Nightwing, his partner for the night, winced, but didn't comment. If he didn't know any better, he'd tell him to _not_ beat on the already beaten attemped mugger... _Luckily, he knew better._

It was a quiet night... _for Gotham_, anyways. Probably on account of the twelve degree Fahrenheit weather.

His breath billowed from his lips as he straightened up, and Nightwing opened his mouth to speak, only to freeze as a bat symbol appeared in the sky.

The two's eyes met each other before they took to the roofs.

When they got to the building, Commissioner Gordon greeted them unsurely. "Nightwing, Robin. Filling in for Batman tonight...?"

Nightwing nodded. "Yep. What's the problem, Gordon?"

The ginger man exhaled heavily, running a hand through his hair and shoving the other in his pocket. "We... there was... There was a sighting."

"Stop beating around the bush, old man," Robin grunted. "Spit it out.."

The man raised a brow as he looked at Robin before shaking his head. "On one of the street cameras, it looked like... like a _Talon_."

The Boy Wonder immediately tensed. "Impossible. We shut down their organization almost a decade ago."

"_Apparently_ not," The man replied gruffly, pulling his jacket closer in an attempt to get warm. "Because he was there."

"Where?"

Gordon looked at Nightwing. "Crowe Street."

The taller of the duo nodded. "We'll check it out."

* * *

**Author's note~**

**Okay, so this was a little late... I know. Sorry. Been busy and such. Got an art project on the first week and me, being the dummy I am, chose to make it something stupidly difficult when it could have been something really easy... The color wheel. As dragons. Fucking DRAGONS. Why didn't I make it something easy...? Because I'm dumb. Also I'm working on the sequel to another one of my stories, and then two other ones for when I can't think of anything else.**

**Anywho... to make up for it, I'm gonna give a little tell of what's happening next, even though I'm pretty sure I foreshadowed it pretty clearly. _SPOILERS!_ Dami and Farrah (and Dick) are going to deck it out. And no, they're not going to realize who the other it. Damian, because of the mask and the chest binding and such, Farrah, because, well... she's a little oblivious. I mean, really, has anyone else noticed how oblivious I made her? Because I work hard on that. _Any who_, SPOILERS are over. Danke. I probly said more than I should have, but whatever. Do people even read these? You shouldn't. I just ramble a bit, really.  
**

**Gosh, making Farrah all quiet and stuff gave me a weird feeling. Like a whole nother character. And I know some of you guys are gonna be upset she gave in... Some of you were all 'betting she's not gonna give in' and, well... she did. _UNEXPECTED! _Except, not really... Do you know how much whipping _hurts_? _I_ sure as hell don't... _No_, seriously, did I do the whipping part okay...?**

**No?**

**Okay...**

**So, tell me if I made any errors, other than Farrah's silly redneck accent, and as always, I hope my goofy (_well, it's not quite so goofy now, is it?_) little tale made you smile-err... well... I hope... you liked it...? Or didn't, hate it, anyways. And if you did, hey, thanks a bunch for at least giving my tale a little of your time.**

_**Bear with me**_**, guys! ****ʕ´ᴥ`ʔ**

**, _Blue (Woah, long author's note. I'll try not to do that next timne, sorry!)  
_**


	15. Chapter 15

"Ashley Goldmann."

The brunette woman trembled and whimpered at the Talon's feet. "_Please, no..._"

"We've seen yer corruption," Pulling out her war hammer and lifting it over her head, like she oft used to do in Georgia to cut firewood. Her voice was rough, lower than her own, but she _still_ couldn't shake her Southern twang. _Oh well..._"An' have deemed you unworthy an' unfit fer duty. The Court of Owls has sentenced you ta _die_."

Farrah slammed the hammer down on the woman's skull. _Messy_. But it did the job. Grabbing the woman's purse to make it look like the average mugging that ended in murder, she rolled her stitched shoulder as she mused to herself. _That was what happened when you walked the streets of Gotham City at night_... And she, of all people, would know. She melted into the shadows and began slinking away, only to freeze as she heard a voice cry.

"_No!_"

She turned to look, only to see, _shit_, Robin and Nightwing. They haven't seen her yet... _silver lining_. Maybe she could just slink away unnoticed...

She was almost home free, when she hear the _faintest_ whizzing, and she dropped to the ground. A red batarang flew past where her head was moments ago, and she rolled to her feet only to meet a _very_ pissed off Robin.

Well, _that_ silver lining just blew up into a million pieces... They had warned her about the possibility of meeting one of the heroes of the town. She knew what to do: _lose them_. Shake them off in any way, so long as she didn't _try_ to kill them. They were too much of a public figure to kill; that would give the media a _field day_, so she was told to try to avoid it. If she couldn't, and she had to, they would forgive it. _Not that she would_... Hell, she found herself hesitant just to _think_ about hitting the Boy Wonder. He _did_ save her life. _Twice_. She kind of owed him... but she _had_ to lose him.

Robin managed to hit her three times out of eight punches, and she only got in one; _but_, the one she did manage to throw not only _hit_ him, but also sent him flying.

Right when Robin got knocked back, Nightwing jumped in. She lashed out, but missed _every goddamn time_. Now, she didn't really want to hit him, but it still got frustrating. The guy was bendier than fucking Gumby, and it was really starting to _piss her off!_ It didn't even seem like he was trying to hit her, just _dodge!_

The second she realized that, _fuck_, he was just distracting her, she got kicked in the back by the Boy Wonder she had stopped paying attention to. A deep pain throbbed from where he had kicked her, but she ignored it and pushed forward to Nightwing, who had stopped dodging when Robin got her. She slammed into him with her shoulder, careful not to jab him with her rather pointy, feather-shaped armor and sent him flying.

Another solid kick to her shoulder from Robin, and she spun around, fists up and ready to go, when... she faltered...

It wasn't from fear... just guilt. Guilt, as she blocked a few well-aimed punches and retaliated with one of her own at his side. She heard a loud _crack!_ and winced under her mask. _Shit_. _Too hard_, _way_ too hard! She forgot that she hit even harder than she used to, now! The girl bit back an apology. It wasn't that she didn't _want_ to apologize, but what if he recognized her voice...? It was unlikely, but possible, and she couldn't take that chance.

So, as he stopped for half a second to react to her hit and grimace, she grabbed him by the middle and lifted him over her head with barely any strain, throwing him at Nightwing as gently as she could... which could only get _so_ gentle, so it would obviously still hurt. Just not _as_ much. That was all she could really do...

As Nightwing and Robin got thrown back, she grabbed one of the small, bright green capsules attached to a strap on her arm and threw it on the ground. As dull green smoke billowed out and filled the alley, she slunk away.

Farrah had made it to the sewers, and thought she was safe, when a red and black blur slammed into her back. She grunted as she used the momentum to roll and throw them off.

She looked to see, only to curse internally. _Fuck_.

The Boy Wonder followed her. _On the bright side_, Nightwing didn't seem to be with him. Maybe the boy had went after her alone without saying anything...? He certainly seemed the type.

"I'll kill you!" Robin snarled, pulling out a tanto from his belt and leaping at her. _He was fast_... but not _as_ fast. Probably on account of the cracked or broken rib... She ducked out of the way, easily, and he cursed as she kicked the knife from his hand and jumped on him, earning her a gasp of pain.

"_Stay!_" Luckily, her twang didn't really come out, and her voice sounded a lot gruffer and lower, completely unlike hers.

For a millisecond, she thought that maybe he'd seen that he'd lost and would listen so she wouldn't have to hurt him anymore.

Well... She was wrong.

He jerked his hips up, catching her off guard. As she threw her arms out to avoid having her head slam against his which would, most likely, _hurt both of them_. Him, more than her. Robin used the opportunity and kicked her off, rolling to his feet.

As he jumped up, she winced. _He needed to stop!_ She was _pretty_ sure she had broken one of his ribs, and all that rolling and jumping was probably _not_ helping it!

Robin ran for her again, with a gold handled knife that looked suspiciously like... She looked down, and her eyes widened behind her goggles. Sneaky bitch! _He took her knife!_ She narrowly dodged a stab, apologizing in her head as she gave him a light punch on the shoulder to (hopefully) slow down his swipes enough so she could get it back without risking losing an arm.

He swiped at her another four times, missing each time, and managed a kick in her thigh. Finally, getting tired of dodging and doing it the passive way, she ducked under his arm and grabbed his wrist; completely stopping his attempts to stab her.

For a second, the Boy Wonder stared at her, a gobsmacked look on his face as she dug her thumb into a pressure point, forcing him to drop her knife. She managed to stick it back in its scabbard before he went back to trying to hit her.

This time, Farrah made a point to keep all her weapons out of reach...

They sparred for quite a while because, _hey_, _it was good practice_. She ducked and dodged, occasionally throwing the odd punch that she intentionally missed, occasionally taking the odd punch, trying to show him that she _wasn't_ trying to hurt him. It wasn't until she accidentally hit him again in his side and he grunted in pain that she decided that it was time to end it.

She tackled him to the ground, wincing as Robin gave a pained gasp. She pointed at him like she would when scolding Thor, voice deepening in an attempt to mask it. "Stay _down!_" _She was getting pretty good at hiding her voice_. And then, she threw down two smoke capsules for good measure. _Just_ to be safe.

He glared as she leaped up and took off, moving to jump up only to get stopped with a small jerk from his hood. Her glanced down, only to see an average, typical pocket knife holding the hood in place. He pulled it out with a growl.

It was only a second's delay, but it was enough. As he jumped to his feet and looked, the Talon was gone. And now, he couldn't even see which was they had gone!

"_Damnit!_" He roared furiously, one arm hugging his hurt side. He glared at the pocket knife in his hand before folding it and clipping it on his utility belt to later look for fingerprints that he knew probably weren't there.

As the Boy Wonder's fury faded, he found himself confused. The Talon had had many opportunities to hurt, cripple, and even _kill_ him, as much as it pained him to think it. Why didn't it...? When it had grabbed his wrist and taken the knife from his grasp, it could have _easily_ broken his wrist beyond repair. Hell, with the punches it threw, it could have broken every one of his ribs!

He wasn't sure if this realization comforted him or _pissed him off_... Either way, it had gotten away... which meant that it was free to kill another day.

"For fuck's sake..." He grumbled sourly, turning and limping away. He'd find his way out eventually... probably.

As he made his way, he paused mid step as a thought struck him. _Something about the Talon's voice had been familiar_...

Robin shook his head to himself vigorously before continuing on his way with a scowl etched on his face. _It was probably nothing._

* * *

"And the target?"

Farrah nodded in confirmation. "Gone."

Isrann leaned forward in his chair, putting his elbows on the U-shaped table and putting his hands together. The rest of The Court, which included Dominique and Joel, stayed silent, waiting for the huge man to speak.

"You got cut." The russet-skinned man rumbled.

She resisted the urge to cock her head to the side. "Did I?"

"Yes," He said, studying her closely for a while before giving an almost _decisive_ nod. "Regardless, well done. Azrell will deal with your needed stitches. _Dismissed_."

Dominique stood up, only to get stopped by Joel. She winced behind her mask. "Actually, sir, _I_ will do it." He faltered in confidence as Isrann stared him down.

"Very well." He finally gave a curt nod before standing and leaving with the rest of The Court. Dominique faltered at the door, pausing to give the girl a look from behind his mask before continuing, and Joel stood by her. Her legs suddenly felt weak...

When the room was empty, the shorter man lead her to the med bay.

Once she was seated and mostly armor-free, and he had the first aid kit, the man lifted his mask to rest on top of his head and cracked a smile, putting a hand on her shoulder. "I know I've been hard on you, but I want you to know you did good, _niña_."

Her eyes widened as she regarded him with cautious eyes. Finally, she gave a hesitant nod.

Joel's smile widened at her confusion. "_No te preocupes_, I get it... I haven't been... _misericordioso_, merciful when it came to you. If anything, I've been cruel, _bárbaro_... but, I've grown a bit fond of you, _poca garra_. You have earned my respect. If you wish, you may confide in me, _bueno?_"

She studied him carefully before giving a small nod. _That_... was pretty strange... _An apology_. From _Joel_. Granted, it was a pretty shitty one, but an apology nonetheless... _weird_.

"I hope you know I'm not going to start going easy on you, now, _poca garra!_" He smirked as he began stitching up the rather deep laceration on her shoulder. "And you must continue to earn my respect from this point on. If you lose it, I will be ten times harsher on you, _aprobado?_"

She decided to test what he said, and let her head twitch to the side, brows drawing together questioningly. Maybe now she would be able to ask what he was saying...?

Joel gave a short laugh, quickly figuring it out. "_Okay?_" He translated. Farrah blinked in surprise before giving a small nod. He hummed in response before stepping back. "_Buen_. I'm done now, you know..."

The girl's brows drew together again, looking down only to have her eyebrows jump in surprise. _He wasn't lying_... He _was_ done! He had stitched her up... _without_ going out of his way to hurt her! Granted, he didn't have the gentle hands that Dominique did, but _still_.

She stared at him for a bit before finally saying quietly. "_Thank you_."

Joel laughed. "_Ha!_ So you _can_ speak! _Asombroso!_ Maybe soon I can learn if you have teeth, yes?"

Farrah raised a brow. She didn't need to say it to make it understood: _Don't push it_. _She_ sure as hell wouldn't...

He grinned. "Right, right... _Paso a paso_, _sí?_"

She nodded, and he chuckled, clapping a hand against her shoulder (her cut one, mind you) and she resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She wasn't really surprised... It _was_ Joel, after all...

"This is your fifth mission completed, _sí?_" She nodded, and lips curled into a smirk. "Well then, _poca garra_, lets celebrate!" He threw an arm over her (_again_) bad shoulder and led her to one of the cupboards. As he pulled out a bottle of scotch, her brows furrowed. The man caught it, and he raised a brow. "Don't drink?"

Farrah gave a nod and an apologetic quirk of her lips, and Joel gave a shrug.

"Hey, not a big deal, _poca garra_." He popped open the cap and grinned. "More for me."

_Just_ as she started to relax, Joel grabbed one of the scalpels from a tray, shouting a quick, "_Think fast!_" Before throwing it right to her face.

Needless to say, _she hit the deck_. Right on time, too... As she jumped back up to her feet and glared, Joel let out a boisterous laugh.

"_What?_ You're our _poca garra_. I need to keep you on your toes, no?"

The redneck bit her tongue and resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Yeah... An _ally_... but never _quite_ a friend. Grunting and walking over, she snatched the tray with medical tools away and put it on the other side of the room, much to Joel's amusement, before going back and leaning against the counter next to him with a disgruntled twitch of her lips.

Beaming, he gave a wink. "Can't have you getting soft, can I...?"

_Well_... He _could_, if he wanted... But she kept that thought to herself. Again, she was _not_ going to push this new and shaky alliance of theirs. She rather enjoyed not having to be completely on edge every time he entered the room...

As he took a big swig, he noticed Far shifting in place awkwardly. Joel gave a half-smile and nudged her. "'Ey, no worries... you don't have to hang around. I _always_ drink after a successful mission. You go on ahead and rest, now, _poca garra_. Give those stitches a night to heal."

Farrah subtly exhaled in relief as she scooped up her armor, resting the heavier, plated armor on her shoulder as she tucked the end of her mask in her belt. _Thank goodness_... She's only seen him drunk once, and it was... _extremely_ uncomfortable. It involved a lot of sobbing from him, and desperate hugs that she didn't want, and couldn't respond to because she'd had her hands bound. Not exactly her idea of a fun time...

As the girl, the _talon_ walked into the dark, earthy-brown halls, she heard her father's voice. He sounded tired, and sad, and so, so _old_ as he spoke...

"Farrah... _Baby_... why didn't you just _leave_ when they let you go ta kill that woman...?"

She didn't answer, staring straight ahead as she gritted her teeth. Why _didn't_ she...? The more she thought about it, the more the question repeated in her head. As she trudged down the hall, and went into her small quarters, she thought about it. As she neatly strapped her armor to the mannequin, she thought about it.

And as she sat on her cot, making sure her door was locked, she furrowed her brows together. _Why hadn't she...?_ She'd had the chance. Hell, she's had _five_ chances to just _screw it_ and _leave_. Five chances to go home. Five chances to go back to Charlie, and her hounds, and even _Griffin_. Yet... she didn't.

"Far?"

For a moment, every muscle in her body _tensed_. Then, finally, she relaxed, face melting into the same neutral expression she always wore.

The small bubble of hope in the pit of her stomach that had never quite died, the one that had made the voices a source of hope, a reason to keep going; the one that had been growing smaller and smaller, weaker and weaker, finally popped.

"Because I am their Talon." She stared at the mannequin, and the owl mask stared back. "An' I do what is told of me. We're the gray of Gotham."

Farrah waited for a response, but deep down... _she knew she wouldn't get one_. She _knew_ she wouldn't. Because she had finally, completely and fully given in... They had broken her. And... knowing that, it didn't bother her...

_Maybe it was better this way_.

* * *

**Author's note~**

**This one was a bit short, eh? Sorry 'bout that... I'll try to make the next one longer, but no promises, yo. No spoilers, this time. And probably not next time, since I don't have any plans to be late on updating, you dig? And even if I _am_, which is always a possibility, I won't. It's probably not a _good_ thing that I give out spoilers all the time, so I'm not... Probably. I dunno, it kinda depends on how I feel...**

_**Oh, fuck**_** it. I love you guys and you deserve to be spoiled a bit (Ha! See what I did there?) SPOILERS! Well, sort of, anyways. I don't want the thing, the _big_ thing to happen just yet (and no, I'm not telling you what the big thing is) so it's probably gonna be another mission, only this time, we (well, _you_) get to experience the whole badoodle. Getting the mission from Isrann, heading out, the owl building, jumping, getting there, etc... And maybe, a spark of the old Farrah...? A spark of sympathy? I'm not one hundred percent sure yet... I probably should've planned it, but I procrastinerated. Been drawing a bit more and such.**

**Oh, and speaking of which... I know I didn't describe her armor. Or rather, I did it in a vague way, so you could imagine it and such, but... if you wanna see how I imagine it (or the back half/part of it? the angle, dudes... it was weird) I doodled a thing on my deviantart... You could google my account if you want. It's 'ProcrastinateForever' and uh... yeah. It's not very good, but... yup. Done.**

**Lemme know if there's any errors, and I hope my goofy little tale made you smi-it probably won't, never mind :| I can't even ask for a smile even if it _was_ likely to make you smile, bacause this chapter felt a bit... shitty.  
**

_**Bear with me**_**, guys! ****ʕ´ᴥ`ʔ**

**, _Blue_**


	16. Chapter 16

Farrah ground her teeth as she stood in front of that _creepy_-ass statue. That thing, and that thing _alone_ was the sole thing about getting her mission that she absolutely and utterly _hated_, every single time. The glowing red eyes that she _swore_ she could feel was looking at her; waiting... _watching_ for a chance to strike.

But still, she tore through it. Every. Single. Time.

She stood at attention, mind drifting (not _too_ far, of course) as the Court discussed matters among themselves, debating on the 'worthiness' of the person she may or may not kill later on in the night.

It was her ninth mission, now, if this one followed through. Ever since her first encounter with Nightwing and Robin, she's been encountering them on and off. She had yet to see Batman, though, oddly enough... _Maybe that was a good thing_. She probably wouldn't be able to fight him and come out of it as the winner...

She snapped out of her thoughts when the Court finally came to a decision and turned to her. One of the faceless members of the Court rested his arm on the table. "Talon... are you ready?"

When she gave a curt nod, Isrann, mask and all, stood up. "Your target is Elrond Beaufort. Further details are accessible as always." She nodded again to show that she understood before following him.

The massive man led her down one of the many halls to large double-doors. As the two headed out onto the large, lavish balcony, Isrann took off his mask.

The girl, the _Talon_ cocked her head to the side questioningly. _This_ was new...

"I know the voices stopped. They have stopped weeks ago... If you complete this mission," he rumbled lowly, "The next will be a test. A test to see if you truly are _worthy_ to be our Talon."

_Why was he telling her this?_ They _never_ told her _anything_ about her future assignments, whether they knew what it was yet or not... Her brows drew together, and although she knew he couldn't actually _see_ it, she was still pretty sure he knew she did it. He _always_ did. And when his ageless eyes narrowed, she _knew_ he did.

"I'm telling you this because I believe you have the right to know." His voice had the slightest twinge of anger in his voice, and it sent a spike of unease down into her gut. He must have realized that, because he quickly composed himself, clearing his throat as he muttered lowly. "My apologies..." He folded his hands together behind his back. "This isn't how we have... _traditionally_ found our Talon. The situation has changed, and you... you were the most prominent option. We have taken you, _by force_. And because of that, your path has been much more... _jarring_ than it could have been. It has not been fair to you..."

She froze for a moment before pulling off her mask and looking him in the eye. "Yer apologizin' ta me... _now?_" She asked criticizingly.

Farrah expected him to react in anger, but instead, he almost looked _apologetic_. His eyes shifted to the floor as he gave the barest of nods. "In a way, I suppose I am." He shifted and cleared his throat. "I _have_ been watching your progress. You have improved considerably. I am... _proud_ of what you have achieved."

Her brows started to raise, but she beat the reaction down. She stared at him silently for a few minutes before speaking up again, barely even a whisper, "_What are you gonna do ta me?_" She took a hesitant step away from him. "Yer not apologizing ta me for what you _did_ do... yer apologizing fer what yer _gonna_ do. _I can tell_."

He rumbled. "Yes. I am." And he didn't say anything else.

She didn't feel _fear_... she never felt fear, these days... just unease. She studied him closely for a bit before giving a slow nod and pulling her mask back over her head.

Isrann's brow raised, "You are not going to ask what we're going to do to you?"

"No." She exhaled silently, though heavily, and repeated what she had been told several times before. "_Don't question what I'm told. Jus' do._"

He hummed, and if she didn't know any better, she'd say he sounded _pleased_. The girl had thought they were done, and turned, only to freeze as his deep voice came again. "If you refuse to do the test," He warned lowly, "You will be killed."

Farrah grunted and rolled her shoulders as she mentally prepared herself for the jump that never really got easier; but always got more fun. "_I won't_."

As soon as the words left her lips, she took off in a sprint. Her heart pounded against her ribcage as she got ever closer to the edge, the gates to her adrenaline opening and flooding her veins. She jumped to the very edge before taking the leap.

For a few, beautiful, carefree seconds, she let herself relax, she let her thought empty from her head as she fell. Her eyes slid shut, and she let go... No heavy weight on her shoulders

It couldn't last forever, of course... Her eyes shot open as she clicked a small, inconspicuous button on her left gauntlet. Information exploded onto her goggles. _His typical schedule. His favorite hang out. The time he usually went to bed_...

The Court of Owls certainly knew how to get shit done, _that_ was for sure... She memorized his address to heart before drawing her attention away from the words and to the world around her. _She was getting close to the ground_.

A wire exploded from her left gauntlet, much like web would from Spiderman's wrists because, _hey_, she didn't want to _completely_ forget her old life. It was the little things. From the small details in her mask to her technologically updated gauntlet...

The wire wrapped around a light post, and she swung in a half circle using the momentum of her fall, right into an alley. She rolled, careful to mind her armor as she always did by instinct, at that point. She bounced back up and her eyes scoured the ground for what she was looking for, only to freeze as a gruff, raspy voice barked at her.

"_Hey!_ Gimme all your cash!"

She turned to face the owner of the voice and raised her brow. _Really...?_

He snarled. "I said give me all your money!" He pulled out a gun. "Do it now, before I decide to _rape_ you on top of mugging you, boy! I _will_ kill you if you don't!"

Well she _had_ been planning on letting him go with little more than a bit of a fright, but... Farrah's lips twitched down, and with a flick of her wrist, she sent a throwing knife into his throat.

The thug immediately choked and gagged, dropping to his knees as blood bubbled from his mouth. She walked over, never making a sound, and ripped the blade from his throat. His eyes widened as he fell to his side, choking all the way. She snorted through her nose and wiped the blood from her knife on his jacket before strapping it back to her belt. "_Go ahead. Kill_ me." He squeezed his eyes shut as his face contorted with pain. "_I'm waitin'_..."

He gave a faint shake of his head as he rolled onto his back. She watched him choke for a bit before using her foot to roll him back on his belly. "You'll choke on your blood, if you stay on your back," She grunted, shifting his body and kicking him closer to where the alley ended into a street. "Don't do that, an' you _may_ survive."

As he took her advice and started crawling to the street, huffing and rasping and gagging, she trotted to the sewer grate she had been looking for before the attempted mugger had _so rudely_ interrupted her.

Farrah picked up the grate with ease, holding it clear above her head as she began her way down the ladder. As she got low enough, she set the grate back into place, effectively erasing all traces of her presence.

_It was time to hunt_.

* * *

The Talon prowled through the house, listening closely for the snores of her target. She went up the stairs, silent as a mouse, and stopped at every door she passed, careful not to let her feet drag.

When at last, she came to a door with soft snores coming through it, she perked up. She opened the door at a snail's pace to keep it from creaking. As soon as it was open wide enough for her to slip through, she did, and padded to the bed where her target lay in a deep sleep at the edge of the bed in a blanket cocoon.

Once she was standing still, she silently debated to herself on the circumstances while she still had the chance. _Definitely_ don't use the hammer. As good as she was with it, _it was messy_, and messy meant more work for her...

Maybe poison...? _No_. She shook her head to herself. Poison was traceable in the blood, and from what she knew, he wasn't hated enough to have someone out to get him...

Finally, she just grabbed a pillow that had fallen off the bed. It would be easy... The pillow was thick and heavy. _Elrond Beaufort died in his sleep from unknown causes..._

Unknown to anyone but her, anyways...She held the pillow over his face with one hand while one hovered over his chest, hands hovering before pushing them both down.

He woke up right away, and a shout got swallowed by the thick pillow. She held him down to the bed easily, with little more that a few barely audible squeaks from his bed. From what she knew, he was home alone, so it wasn't an issue. What really made her insides twist, though, was the was he tried to squirm away. She didn't think it was from guilt or regret, _though she knew it should have been_... It just made her stomach feel like it was full of crawling snakes.

It took longer than she would have prefered, but his fighting gradually got weaker and weaker, until he barely moved to fight her at all. But still, she kept a firm grip, just in case he was faking it...

Farrah smothered his face on for a long time; probably _too_ long, but she needed to be sure. When she finally pulled the pillow from his face and dropped it to where it had been on the floor.

The Talon exhaled heavily as Elrond's eyes, wide-eyed and accusing, stared at her. She put her gloved fingers against his neck, _just_ to be sure. She didn't _dare_ think of what they would do if she failed...

When his pulse didn't beat beneath her fingers, she sighed and straightened up. Turning to look at a picture of him with a young boy, maybe six or seven with auburn hair, she bit her lip before turning to look back at him. She reached over and gently shut his eyes.

Brushing off dust that wasn't there, she turned to walk out the door, only to freeze as a small head with familiar messy auburn hair peeked from the doorway. He gazed at her with an awed look before finally stumbling over, hugging a stuffed bear to his chest. _He saw her._

"Hi, person." The boy greeted shyly, peering up at her from his hair. _God, no, why did he have to see her...?_

"Are you the tooth fairy...?" _This wasn't fair..._

"I like your costume." _This wasn't FAIR!_

"And your goggles." _She couldn't-she couldn't _kill _him! He was just a boy!_

"Are you a superhero?" When she didn't answer, he padded closer, touching her gauntlet with awe. "You _are!_"

Still not finding her voice, she kneeled down, wracking her brain to find out what to do as two halves of her head screamed at her. One part screamed, _roared_ at her to kill him. The other pleaded for her to let him live, to beg for forgiveness. The Talon in her screamed for murder. The small part of Farrah, the _old_ Farrah, screamed for truth and justice and mercy.

As she lifted her hand and let him run his fingers over her gauntlet, two parts screaming at her, she faltered and willed for them to quiet.

What would _she_ do...? Not the Talon, not the old her, but _her_; right here, right now...

"What are you doing in Daddy's room...?" The boy asked innocently.

Her chest squeezed as she lifted her hand that suddenly seem _so large_ over his head. It hovered above him...

Before gently coming down and ruffling his hair gently. She motioned for him to come closer, and his eyes lit up as he eagerly leaned against her, as close as he could get to hear her secret.

She took a shaky breath before telling him quietly, "I took him ta see the angels."

His eyes lit up even more, _if that was even possible in the near pitch-black room_, and he beamed. "_Cool!_ Can I see them, too?!"

That one sentence... that _one_ last sentence nearly melted down her every one of her many, thick walls. She picked him up under the armpits and held him against the less-armored side of her torso so he would be comfortable before shaking her head in response to his question.

"Aw..." He pouted lightly as she walked over to the door and slipped out. She walked down the hall, and he brightened up. "Are we going to my room to play? Or sleep?" She held up two fingers, and his shoulders fell again. "Aww, man... _poop_." He froze and looked at her sheepishly. "_Oops_... I said a bad word." He leaned in close, whispering, "Don't tell my daddy..."

Farrah gritted her teeth together and nodded slowly as she got to the door with scribbles in crayon near the bottom, opening it. She didn't really care about being quiet, now... She set him gently into the bed and swallowed a lump in her throat as she smoothed his hair back, handing him his teddy bear before pulling the colorful blanket to his chest. The room had a faint, reddish light from the nightlight in the corner.

He started to ask another question, but she put her finger to her lips. His mouth snapped shut and he smiled sheepishly as he snuggled back into his pillow. "Are you going, now...?" She nodded and he frowned. "Aw... will I see you again?"

The girl grimaced behind her mask as slowly shook her head.

His lower lip stuck out, but he nodded. "_Aw_. Okay... Bye miss lady." As she started pulling away, he grabbed her fingers, "Wait!" She froze as his eyes drew over her several times, probably trying to memorize her. Finally, he heaved a sigh and let her go. "Alright..."

She nodded and ruffled his hair lightly once more before turning and making her way over to the door, only to stop as he spoke again. "Will you remember me...?"

Turning her head to look at him, she stared at him for the longest time before giving a slow nod. _Yeah_, she definitely would... He would probably haunt her dreams a few nights, as well as his father, now, thanks to this...

The boy smiled widely. "_I'll_ remember _you_, too." And she had no doubt of that, either...

She walked out and shut the door behind her, she walked back to the target - _Elrond_'s room. She didn't really know _why_, but she did. As she got into the room and leaned against the wall, she swallowed thickly. "_Oh God_..." _What had she almost done...?_ She'd very seriously considered _killing_ that boy!

Even worse, what _hadn't_ she done?! She _should_ have! She shouldn't have felt guilt and let him live!

Two halves of her head screamed at her for what she did and didn't do, and all it did was give her a headache. It was the kid's fault... this wouldn't have been a problem, it wouldn't have plagued her with guilt! She would have been fine, none of this would have happened!

"You didn't kill the boy."

Farrah huffed and squeezed her eyes shut, only to realize that that _wasn't the voice in her head_, and she jumped up, ready to fight as she saw Robin.

She was completely prepared to dodge attacks, only to falter in confusion. The Boy Wonder wasn't doing _anything_. He was leaning up against the wall nonchalantly, like he was looking at an acquaintance. He raised a brow under his mask. "I know what you've done... but tonight, right here, right at this moment, I'm not here to fight. I'm willing to let it go, _just for the moment_, because I want answers only _you_ can give, Talon."

He stood up straight, and she tensed, looking around the room for Nightwing or Batman cautiously.

"We're alone," Robin assured her as he waltzed over. "You don't have to worry... _Not that you would_." He came to a stop a few feet away, towering easily over her. "Because you could break every rib in my body with a single punch, couldn't you...?"

_What was he getting at?_ She cocked her head to the side.

"I saw you, last time," His voice turned sharp as his eyes narrowed. "That _one_ punch turned a large portion of that concrete wall to _dust_. The first time we had encountered one another, and I had pursued you in the sewers, you could have broken my wrist beyond repair, turned it to _mush_. You could have _killed_ me, _easily_; and several times over at that, in several different ways. You have a miniature armory with you every time we meet, yet you never pull a weapon against me or Nightwing. _Why?_"

Farrah unconsciously took a step back as he took one closer, her back bumping against the wall. She for _damn_ sure wasn't going to risk talking, not without any other noise to help disguise it...

Robin glared suspiciously. "And with the boy in the other room. I _know_ you are supposed to kill any witnesses to your _act_. Yet you _didn't_, Talon. _Why?_" Her breath hitched in her throat as he loomed over her. "It seems as though I _know_ you, somehow, yet... I _don't_. I don't _think_ I do... _Do I_ know you...?"

She swallowed thickly, trying to back up time and time again, only to hit wall every time. _No no no,_ he's not supposed to do this, _he's supposed to attack her and she dodge and lose him_, he's not supposed to talk to her and do this-_this!_

He raised his hand, and she flinched behind her mask, expecting to get striked, only to freeze as his hand slowly reached for the bottom of her mask. Her pupils turned to pinpricks. _No_. "Let me see your face..." He muttered lowly, cautiously, watching for any signs of violence.

As his fingers closed around the cloth, her hand shot up and grabbed his wrist with the speed of a flying bullet. The Boy Wonder froze, only to relax as he realized that she (did he even know her gender...?) wasn't going to hurt him. _Yet_. He gave a short nod of understanding and let her slowly push him back, hand still tight on his wrist. She didn't need to talk to say what she was. _No_.

"Very well... have it your way." He grunted. She loosened her grip and let his arm fall to his side, and he studied her warily. "I hope you are that we're going to fight now."

Farrah shrugged as she dusted off her legs, barely listening to him at this point, only to jerk in surprise as one of his batarangs (or was it a robin-ang?) sliced above her brow and put a slice in her metal goggles. She looked up in time to get a solid punch, _right in her eye_.

_Fuck_. She shouldn't have let her guard down. She shouldn't have looked away from him!

Before he could hit her again, she caught his fist in one hand, and he froze. She motioned for him to _wait_, putting a finger to her lips before gesturing to the boy in the other room. _Not here_.

Robin's brows drew together behind his mask as she lightly pushed him, knocking him off-balance in an almost _playful_ way as she leaped out of the open window, falling through the air and landing on a rooftop before straightening and turning to face the window, crossing her arms and tapping a foot impatiently.

As he followed suit and the two began to brawl, _not even a serious fight_, she had a thought. _This was wrong_. She shouldn't have been doing it... she should have filled the room with smoke and slipped away. _Should have, could have..._

_Fuck_. She sweeped the Boy Wonder's legs from under him, and he dropped to the cement with a grunt.

The girl faltered as she pondered on whether or not to _stop this_, like the trained Talon in her said, and he took the chance and kicked her in the gut, making her stagger two feet back with a muffled groan before the two went at it again.

_She needed to stop_. She was getting unnecessarily bruised and battered and scraped. That was what she was telling herself, as he jumped on her and ran her face against the cement, scraping her jaw line and, _quite frankly_, annoying the hell out of her. _Completely_ unnecessary...

She flipped them over and slammed his shoulders to the ground. He got an _annoyed_ look on his face as she pointed to him and silently scolded him. _No. Stay_.

Robin gave an unamused look and tutted, and Farrah tensed up and froze as a bullet of remembrance and hurt ran through her brain at the familiar sound. The teen beneath her immediately noticed and raised a brow, shifting uncomfortably as one of the daggers strapped to her leg dug into his side. "_What?_"

Farrah opened her mouth to explain that, _shit_, she missed her rude friend/boyfriend, only to remember that she _probably_ shouldn't risk talking, and shook her head. _Nothing_.

And then, she felt the _hurt_. She really _had_ let him beat the absolute _shit_ out of her... And she hadn't laid a _finger_ on the guy. That knowledge sent a jolt through her.

The girl shook her head to herself and jumped to her feet. God damnit... God _damnit_. She had been doing _so good_, and then that _kid_ and then _Robin_ came, and undid a _lot_ of her hard work. She was fucking _wrestling_ with the guy. She should have been _back_ by now. She should have knocked him out cold when she first saw him in the _room_. She should have...

_Fuck_. Okay... she exhaled heavily and put her hand on her head as the Boy Wonder sat up and watched her cautiously. _New rule_... Avoid Robin and children from _now on_. _Don't_ let him talk to you, just disappear. _Don't_ give him the _chance_ to fight, just _disappear_.

"What the everliving _fuck?_ Were we or were we not fighting...?"

Farrah growled low under her breath. _She was never going to give him the chance to see her, anyways, so why bother keeping quiet for the last time...?_ She stood on the edge of the building and pointed to him. "_No fuckin' more a' this_. It's messin' me up." His eyes widened behind his mask, and his face contorted in disbelief. _Whoops_... she could have lightened up the twang a _little_ bit more... At least it cracked quite a bit. It was times like these she was _glad_ her voice cracked so much from misuse. It was much less Far-ish.

"_What..._"

"I'd warn you ta stay out of my way, _but what's the point?_ You won't catch up to me, anyways." _There_ we go, that was _much_ better. Lower, deeper, less accent, scratchier... Less _Farrah_-like. Almost perfect. She stepped back off of the building and to the alley below.

As Robin shot up and looked over, the Talon was _gone_. No sign what-so-fucking-ever.

He raised a shaky hand and ran it through his hair. The Talon... it had sounded a lot like _Farrah_. He shook his head vigorously. "That... It was probably from voice misuse; I just imagined it." He breathed, nodding to himself. He continued to stand at the edge for a few minutes after that, and his mood got worse and worse until finally, he spat on the ground and turned to go find Nightwing.

Thirty feet below, Farrah leaned against the wall of the sewer and gave a shaky breath. "Aw shit... 'm never doin' _that_ again." She used the ladder to help her stand back up straight. "I... I need another _serious_ trainin' session with Joel... Can't get soft, now. I _can't_... Not with the big mission comin' up..."

And so, heaving a sigh, she began to navigate through the sewers to get back to the headquarters. _Maybe... Maybe she could just _not_ mention the whole kid and Robin fiasco_...

_Yeah_. That would be best...

* * *

**Author's note~**

**WHAT I ACTUALLY FINISHED SUPER EARLY WHAT. *Ahem*... Anywho.**

**She might have given in, but she's still _Farrah_. Granted, a slightly crazed, near-mute Farrah that's _way_ stronger and junk thanks to Joel's _conditioning_ (they did it for a reason, yo), but still Farrah. She does what she _has_ to to stay alive, no more, no less. Actually, she really does _less_. Still... doesn't make slitting a dude's throat any better, but just something to keep in mind. Also, I made this one a bit longer yay! Not as long as I'd WANTED it to be, but... _meh_. I got dragons to kill and stupid fucking math homework to do, guiz.  
**

**Bwahahaha! I'm going to do something _horrible_ to Farrah next time around... I _almost_ feel bad for her. _Almost_. But I don't... mostly because I'm gonna make it up to her in the end. And that's ALL I'm gonna say. WHOOP WHOOP.**

**So, let me know if I made any errors, and as always, I hope my goofy little tale made you-wait, no, still no smiling moments yet, I don't think.**

_**Bear with me guys **_**ʕಠᴥಠʔ I know I pull some craycray shit sometimes. **

**, _Blue_**


	17. Chapter 17

"Your target is the heir to the Wayne family; Damian Wayne." Farrah's eyes widened, and she thanked _God_ that she had her mask on. "Do you accept?"

Her whole body froze. The connection from her brain to her mouth broke, and she stuttered. "I-Ah..." _Oh God, they had to be joking_. "Ah..."

"Spit it out, Talon!" One of the faceless members of the Court barked. The muscles in Isrann's shoulders tensed, and that was enough to get her mouth to work properly.

She swallowed thickly and quickly made sure she was still standing straight and proper. _She was_. "You... yer aware that I knew my target, right...?"

"We are." Another faceless member of the Court, the one she recognized in her head as '_Miss Sultry-Voice_' spoke. "This is why it is your test. This is your chance to prove that you _are_ one hundred percent loyal. _Do you accept?_"

It wasn't a test... It was fucking _cruelty!_ How could they think she would _accept_ this - were they batty?! She couldn't-

"_Do you accept?!_"

Her legs suddenly felt like jello as she stood up straighter and gave a curt nod, not trusting her voice. Isrann's words echoed through her head. _They _will _kill me if I refuse_.

Isrann nodded. "_Good_. You know where to go. Azrell will see you out."

Her limbs felt like they were filled with lead as she followed him to the exit. And as soon as the doors closed behind the two, her ebony-skinned friend turned to her and pulled his mask off, opening his arms.

Farrah trembled all over but she shook her head, minding her armor as she folded her arms over her chest and straightened in an attempt to make it look like she was okay. She hadn't even realized she'd been sniffling until he moved closer and shushed her gently. "_Shhh_... I know... It's gonna be okay."

His words were supposed to be comforting, and she _knew_ that, but it snapped her out of her self-pity as she realized just _who this was_. No matter how nice he was, he was still a member of the Court; and that was what she told herself as she leapt away, doing herself to compose herself and try to pretend she _didn't_ see the hurt on his face.

"_No_," A voice came from the door. Farrah tensed. "It's not okay, _hombre_. This isn't fair! They haven't even given her a day to heal from her mission yesterday!" Her shoulders dropped and resisted the urge to cock her head to the side as she looked between Dom and Joel stared each other down. "Don't try to make it seem like it's okay!"

Dom sighed. "What else can I do...?"

"_Nada!_" Joel ripped his mask of and moved to throw it on the ground, only to falter and instead let it drop to the ground. "There is _nothing_ we can do. But that does not mean we should lie to our _poca garro_..." The hispanic man turned to Farrah. "Take off your mask for me, would you, _galla?_"

She faltered with uncertainty, and her hand twitched. Both of the men noticed, and Dom put a hand on her arm. "We're both on your side, Farrah."

She slowly shook her head. "No... yer both on the _Court's_ side."

"But more so on yours," The shortest of the three, Joel, gave a wry smile. "I am not his favorite person, nor he mine, but we have formed an alliance for one thing and _one thing_ only. _You_, niña."

She cautiously stepped away. "_Why...?_"

"Because you were unwilling, young, and strong-willed; and _now...?_"

Joel finished for him. "Now, you are an _autómata_. And, most likely, you will be even more so after this. _No es justo_. None of the other Talons have been put through this, none have been treated with such... _rigor_."

"Which was, of course, _your fault_." Dominique huffed, folding his arms and unconsciously stepping closer to Farrah protectively.

"_Sí_, I am aware," he retorted dryly, "I was angry. Angry at Isrann, angry at the majority of the Court, and I took it out on her. I punished her harshly for _estúpido_ reasons. I know I cannot apologize, so I try to make up for it. _¿Qué más quieres de mí?_"

Despite herself, Farrah took his word right away and pulled off her mask. She let a brow twitch yo. "_What_, now? Why were you mad in the first place?" She caught herself just as she finished asking and stumbled to take it back, only to have Joel interrupt her with a small smile.

"_I_ wanted to become the next _Garra_, but was turned down. Two days later, _you show up_." He explained with a shake of his head. "Anyways, Farrah... I came to see you off. This is _bueno_...?"

She shrugged and slipped her mask back on with a shaky breath and a nod.

Dominique frowned and reached out to touch her arm, only to falter. "I... We should probably let you go." She nodded, and Dom opened his mouth to add something, only to change his mind and shake his head. "I'm sorry..."

Joel chewed on his lip and jerked his head to the door. "_Dominique_. Give me and the _poca garra_ a moment, would you?"

The man stared at Joel for a moment before giving a slow nod. Farrah resisted the urge to cock her head to the side. _Was she missing something?_

Once Dom was gone, Joel grabbed her by the arm and tugged her to the edge of the balcony. "Listen, _niña_... I..." He growled low under his breath. "You could... you could..." He ran a hand through his short hair and sighed. "Before you... _you know_, to this amigo of yours... you'll have a minute or two to... _talk_, before it is assumed you have betrayed us."

Farrah bit back the urge to grimace. "What if it's longer...?"

Now, her hispanic friend stared her in the eyes through her goggles. It looked like he was _seriously_ contemplating something, on telling her something. She could see a battle raging in his eyes for a split second before he squeezed them shut and turned to look over the brightly lit city. "_You will be killed_. You will be poisoned through your suit. And you will be in excruciating pain in ten seconds, and dead by forty seconds... I-I would not take the risk." He shakily exhaled, and the two watched his breath dissipate in the frigid air. "You are almost there, _niña_. I know it will be hard, but you will live forever. You know of the saying, '_great power comes with great responsibility_'? Well, they forget to mention: great power also comes with even greater sacrifice."

She nodded slowly. "I understand."

He grunted in response. He looked at her from the corner of his eye before saying slowly, almost _tentatively_, and the words 'Joel' and 'tentative' have _never_ mixed as long as she had known him. "Will you... Can we... _hug?_" She turned her head to look at him, and he suddenly found his arm sleeve really interesting. "I-I feel like I'm not going to see you after this, _niña_... If I don't, I would like my last memory of you to be a good one. I would like to pretend that you don't-don't _hate_ me. That in the end, even though you still never really talked to me or came to confide in me or treated me as anything but a member of the Court with all the cautiousness of a stray dog..." He trailed off and cleared his throat, going silent.

Under her mask, Farrah thought long and hard. Joel was... well, he was _Joel_. There was no other word for him. She had nearly been killed by him. He had shaped her into what she was. When she had tried to talk _at all_ when they had been conditioning her to be the Talon, he would punish her mercilessly.

_But_. Farrah also figured that he had some mental issues to him. He probably wasn't mentally stable to begin with, and being with the Court of Owls probably worsened it to an extreme; if her witnessing to his drunken nights were any sign. He was complex. And lately, he _has_ been getting better. Less trying to slip her up and hurt her during training (notice how she said _less_ not _no_) and he didn't hurt her _as much_ when he had to patch her up. _And_ he's been confiding in her, though she had yet to confide in him. Even more, he's been bringing her small styrofoam cups of _coffee_. The coffee was always a bit old, and weak at that, always with too much sugar... But _still_...

In his own warped, crazed mind, he probably considered her a friend...

She silently sighed. "Not hate. Never hated ya..." His head lifted to look at her, and she forced her lips not to twitch up as his eyes lit up. "Well, maybe in the beginnin', but not now. You ain't my _favorite_ person, granted, but I don't hate ya. Yer more'n an ally, but not quite my best bud."

Joel fought back a grin and opened his arms, and Farrah just reminded herself of the times she had seen him sobbing in a corner while drunk before leaning closer and letting him hug her without her jumping back and shrinking from his touch.

It didn't last long (thankfully) and he sighed. "Alright... _gracias, poca garra_. If... if I don't see you again...?" He trailed off.

"Tell Dom that I'm sorry." She finished, giving a curt nod and a small salute before stepping off the edge.

* * *

Farrah ground her teeth together as she reached the window, hanging from one hand on a ledge above it. _Oddly enough_, the window was open a crack, despite the fact that it was the end of January and, _quite frankly_, cold as _fuck_.

The girl hung there for a bit, almost wishing that it _had_ been closed so it would have taken longer to get in...

She had to remind herself several times over that she was a _Talon_. She was the _Court's_ Talon. She did not hesitate. She did not fear. She did not question.

Yet, here she was... doing all of the things she _wasn't_ supposed to do. She was _scared_. Not because she was afraid Damian would end up stopping her, but because she knew he _couldn't_. She was a killing machine...

Shaking her head to herself, she opened the window silently and dropped in without making a sound. _She had to do this_. They would kill her, otherwise. She _had_ to survive this...

That was the base instinct, after all, was it not? That was all there was, for _any_ creature. Survive. Live to pass on the blood line. It was nature. Someone has to die, and it _can't_ be her, because no matter how _numb_ she felt inside at least she was alive. That was what she told herself as she forced herself to take a step, as she tried to will her limbs to stop trembling and her stomach to stop doing back flips. _She could do this_ She could and _would_ do this!

But then, _of course_ he heard her. _Of course_ Damian stepped into the light of the moon with a sword in hand, plain blue pajama shorts and no shirt, low growls coming from the dark of his room. _Of course_ he was awake. _Of course_ he was going to have to fight her to the very end. Because life just loved to _shit on her_.

Farrah tried to move to pull out her war hammer, the short sword tied to her waist, a throwing knife, _anything_; but her limbs felt like they were filled with lead. The Talon in her _roared_. _Do it_.

"_You picked a bad time to choose me as a target_, _Talon_," Damian growled, eyes dark as he got into a fighting position and motioned for her to _come on_. "I am going to _kill you_." _No, he wouldn't..._ He _couldn't_, as a matter of fact. One solid punch from her in the side, and his ribs would collapse. One strong punch in the head, and his skull would cave in. Because that was what the Court of Owls turned her into... _they made her inhuman_.

Her stomach did barrel rolls, and her arms twitched as she focused on the Talon in her head. _Do it_. _Kill him, like you killed all the others_.

Her hand started reaching for the sword. _Kill_. _You can do it_.

"What are you waiting for?!" He barked. She drunk the sight of him in. His eyes had dark shadows under them, and there was light stubble dusting his chin.

_Kill him_. She could do it. _End him_. She could do it _easily_

Tears filled her eyes as she very nearly pulled out the blade, only to shove it back into it's scabbard. "_No_," She choked out, arms trembling, "Ah-Ah _can't_... Ah dun want ta..."

Damian froze. "_What?_"

Her hands shakily rose to the bottom of her mask, and she ripped it off. Damian's eyes widened as her dusty brown hair falling to frame her face. _It was shorter than it used to be_. But she knew that he knew who she was. Her eye was blackened with a freshly stitched cut above her brow, her face was bruised, her chin was scraped, and she _knew_ she was pale. But it was still her. Her voice rarely went over a whisper, _even now_, but it was her.

Her assumption was proven correct as his sword clattered to the floor. "_Farrah_..."

She forced herself to remain neutral, even though it was kind of pointless because she was _pretty_ sure her tears were leaking out. "Ah'm sorry... _Ah can't do this_." He moved towards her, but she raised her arms. "_No!_ Don't... Ah-Ah ain't got a lot a' time before they poison me, an' I _need_ ya ta pass this on." She gave a shaky breath. "Tell-tell everyone that... _Ah'm sorry_. Tell Charlie that it ain't his fault, an' tell my ma an' pa ta not blame 'im..."

He took a step closer, eyes still wide as he stared at her in disbelief. "What are you going on about...?"

"_They're gonna kill me, Damian!_" Her voice cracked. "This was a test ta become a full-fledged Talon, an' Ah _failed_. _Ah can't kill ya_. Now _shut up_, an' pay the fuck attention, 'cause I only got twenty-seven seconds at the _least!_" Her hands tightened into fists.

"You-_no_." He tried to look _angry_, but Farrah just found him to look _pitiful_. "I just-_you_ just-you _can't!_"

Farrah ground her teeth together. "Ah can, an' Ah _will_. Make sure Barry knows I done wrong, but in the end, _Ah did what was raght_. Ask 'im ta forgive me, but if'n he don't, _it's okay_." As she spoke, he kept moving towards her, but she ignored it because _she needed them to know_. "Make sure _ev'ryone_ knows Ah did wrong, an' Ah _know_ I did, an' I jus'... _sorry_. _Yew, too_. Sorry... yew were jus' scared fer me, an' Ah should'a got that, but Ah _didn'_, an' Ah yelled an' hurt yer feelin's an' Ah _shouldn't_ have... Yew were jus' lookin' out fer me. Ah know Ah don't deserve yer, _er anyone elses_ forgiveness, an' if Ah never get it, _Ah understand_, but Ah'm askin' fer it all th' same."

Her breath hitched in her throat as she realized that he was standing _right_ in front of her. His eyes had a glassy look to them. "Farrah... you _idiot_."

Her lip twitched up. "Ah know... Ah am... i's this place, _Gotham_. But... but Ah don't regret comin' 'ere, Ah don't regret _you_ or _anythin'_. Not even a lil' bit. Make sure ev'ryone else knows that, awlraght? Ah don't want 'em ta blame 'emselves... Ah don't want _yew_ ta blame yerself. So _don't_."

It wasn't until she finished talking that she realized he had pulled her into a hug, holding her as tight and as close as he could get, despite the fact that her armor was undoubtedly digging into his skin. She bit back the urge to shrink away as she also noticed that _he was shaking as much as she was_. Her, because she knew she was due to die, him, because... well, she couldn't be entirely sure.

She reached the zero in the countdown in her head, and she tensed. Damian tensed in tandem with her, and she waited.

Waited for the excruciating pain as the poison injected into her bloodstream, for _death_. She had been _ready_. _Willing_, even. She knew they had changed her, and _efficiently_ at that. Being rehabilitated would be... _difficult_, and she honestly wasn't completely sure she could manage it. She wasn't completely sure if she _wanted_ to manage it. She was ready to sleep. She was ready to _sleep_.

Six minutes passed before Damian relaxed, if just a bit, and buried his face in her hair. "_They were bluffing_..." Her heart sunk in her chest, and she ducked down and out of his arms. A look of hurt crossed his face, and his arm moved towards her, only to fall back to his side as she cringed."Farrah..." For the first time in her life, she saw his face turn _mournful_. "_What have they done to you...?_"

She looked to ground, almost _guilty_. "They broke me..."

* * *

The Court was still as they watched the holographic screen. Their Talon _betrayed them_. Their Talon gave up _immortality_. And worst of all, _their Talon was still alive_. Joel and Dominique cheered internally.

"Why is she not dead yet, Isrann?!" One of the short-tempered members barked furiously, completely forgetting who he was talking to.

Isrann scowled and turned his ageless, piercing gaze to the man. "_Because I will it to be so_, just as I _will you_ to continue to live despite your brash behaviour. Do not question me." The man went silent, and he grunted as he put his elbows on the table contemplatively. "Is there anyone here who is against the death of our near-Talon?"

It went silent as the giant man looked about. Just as he opened his mouth to speak, Joel spoke up. "_I_ am against it, _usted_. I say we let her live."

He hummed and stroked his beard. "_Noted_."

Dom raised a hand tentatively. "I-_I_ also am against it. None-none of the other T-Talon's had to be put through this test. I say she should live... _sir_."

Isrann went silent. None of the Court members moved as he put his fingers together. "_Very well_. She lives."

Another member choked. "_Excuse me,_ Isrann?! Why?!"

The russet-skinned man glowered. "Because this was unfair to her; _she was unwilling_. Because three out of twelve, one-fourth of the Court being against her death is _enough for me_. Because we are not mindless killers. Because she has potential, unlike you _swine_. Because she could be a strong ally in the future. But mostly, she lives because _I say so_. You are all mere fledglings compared to me, _children_. You have no right to question me or my decisions, _I have been in the Court of Owls since before you or your great-great grandfather was born_. I am ages older than you; the very _ground_ I have walked on has been worshipped, and if _one more_ of you insolent dogs question my judgement, _you will not be missed!_ You will be replaced as quickly as you have been killed!" He banged his heavy fist on the table. "_Dismissed!_"

Joel and Dominique looked at each other as the rest of the Court fled, and when the two and Isrann were alone, they stared at one another.

Joel leaned back in his chair. "We were not aware you cared about her as we do."

Isrann simply scowled and gave a low grunt, nodding at the two men before standing up. "The Court is ageless, just as I am. We kill for the good of all. Killing a child will help _no one_." He brushed dirt that wasn't there from his shoulders. "Excuse me, gentlemen. I have business to attend to."

* * *

**Author's note~  
**

**Glob, this one is a bit short, isn't it? It is. Blegh.**

**So, told you, didn't I guys? I was gonna be mean to her. This could have ended on this one chapter. I could have had her died. She would have apologized, and _poof!_ Dead. It's what she wanted. BUT I DIDN'T. I REGRET NOTHING AND EVERYTHING because all of the sudden things aren't funny anymore and I WANT IT TO BE. I don't _like_ feeeeeeelllliinggs. Especially romance. I feel like I fail epically every time I try to do romance. Luckily, there's not gonna be much of that for a bit...**

**But anyways, guess what's next? PISSED OFF MOMMAS, that's what! And sad daddies and uncles and baby bros, but that's what happens when you get abducted for almost half a year and then just show up. _woopsies_.**

**I feel like I'm way too happy for having just written this up. I probably am. But I still regret nothing! Other than the summary for this story, because I really suck at those. Like one of my other stories, 'Courage', the summary made a lot of people think that it was crack fiction but then it made some people cry...? So anyways, I might rewrite the summary lately, because this story is going _way_ off track then what I had planned for it. There was a line I drew for it, and now RIG is twenty miles away from the line.**

**Tell me if I made any errors in this or anywhere else, and as always, I hope my goofy little tale made you smi-crap. Still can't really say that, so; I hope you didn't _hate_ this one...? Yeah. That works.  
**

**So the last bear was actually a lot creepier than I initially thought, so I'm probably not doing that again. Sorry bout that ************ʕ´ᴥ`ʔ** Bear with me guys.

_**, Blue**_


	18. Chapter 18

Damian tried not to _frown_ as he watched her sleep, with her knees drawn to her chest as she sat in a corner. She had _refused_ his bed (and, in a way, _him_) without a word, and took off her armor carefully, rhythmically, before setting it down neatly. Then, she just sat in the corner without a word, still _clearly_ debating with herself and holding him in an _un-Far-like_ manner.

He ran a hand through his hair, fighting the droop of his eyelids as he forced himself to continue to watch her: scared that, if he looked away, she would disappear...

Other than that, however, he wasn't sure he knew _how_ to feel. He wanted to hold her, but he knew that, in her state, it would cause more harm than good. On top of that, he felt _nervous_. _She_ had been the Talon. And he wasn't sure how to feel about that, either...

_Did she know he was Robin?_ Did she refuse to pull her weapon against him because of that? Or was it just because she owed Robin a debt for saving her twice...? He couldn't know. And he _dared_ not ask, in case she really _didn't_ know that he was Batman's partner. The boy bit back a sigh in fear of waking her, and rubbed a fading bruise on his shoulder. _This whole thing made his stomach churn_. He wanted to curse her to Hell and back for not being careful, because if she _had just been more careful_, _neither_ of them would be in the situation.

And how was he going to explain this to his father, to Alfred, _her parents?_ How would he explain that she just _showed up_ in the middle of the night; how she looked like Farrah but acted like a _stranger_ that simply wore a vaguely familiar mask...? And what about her faithful hounds? When Charlie came with them, he honestly wasn't sure they would recognize her... Hell, _he_ almost didn't recognize her...

He was so deep in his thoughts, he almost didn't hear her when she muttered, "You should prob'ly sleep... I's early in the mornin', an' if I'm right, you've been up a large majority a' the night..."

_God_, she sounded so _different_. Her voice was all but emotionless, and she spoke rather slow: like she thought about and turned every word in her head over and over before she actually _said_ what she wanted to. Like she was calculating what to say. "I am fine." He said shortly with a grunt before adding quieter, "I was not aware you were awake..."

"You prob'y ain't aware a' a lotta things." She said slowly, looking at him with a sort of _apprehension_. It was faint; barely even a flicker in her dull eyes, but he could see it. _Oh_, could he see it... "I..." She stopped herself, and he heard her grind her teeth together before she spoke again. "Listen... _I shouldn't be 'ere_."

Every muscle in his body tensed, and he prepared himself to leap at her should she try to run away. She noticed, and her lips twitched.

"I didn't mean I was tryin' ta skedaddle. I mean... _I'm a criminal_, Damian. I'm a _murderer_." She paused to gauge his reaction. When he didn't respond, she averted her gaze to the floor. "I _almost_ killed _you_..." He heard her swallow, it was so quiet, as she subtly hugged her legs. "A part a' me... A part a' me's _still_ tellin' me ta kill you."

"I am aware of this, too."

Her head shot up. Her brows didn't raise into her hairline, but it was a _reaction_ and that was good enough for him. "I... _you know...?_ How? I..." Her brows twitched together. "What're you... How d'you know that...?"

_Well_, that answered his previous concerns... He was _quite sure_ she still didn't know he was Robin. _Ever oblivious_. "My father owns Batman Incorporated," Damian reminded slowly. "I _have_ been keeping tabs for a sign of you. I _knew_ there was an assassin out there. I just wasn't aware it was _you_... Now I am, though... so, yes, I'm aware you have taken lives, and I understand the seriousness of the situation."

Farrah's eyes dropped to the ground, almost _guilty_. "You... _you kept lookin' fer me_."

He raised a brow. "_Tt_. Of course..."

The girl rested her chin on her knees. Her face was blank, but he knew the cogs in her head were spinning furiously. And, if she there was an _ounce_ of hope for her, an ounce of her... _her_, then she was probably feeling guilty. Damian sighed quietly to himself before standing and walking over, standing over her. She winced as he kneeled down, but he did his best to ignore it as he searched for a flicker of emotion in her eyes.

_There was none_. But still... _baby steps_. He held his hand out, offering to hold hers, and forced himself not to withdraw as she flinched again. When she realized he wouldn't hit her, she relaxed (if just a bit) and studied him cautiously.

After a few minutes, she still didn't move, and Damian felt his heart sink. Maybe she _hadn't_ been wrong... maybe the Court of Owls _did_ break her...

Just as he moved to withdraw his hand, he saw her arm twitch. And more, it twitched _towards_ him. Granted, it went back to its original spot _milliseconds_ later...

_It was a small gesture_. Probably not enough to get excited, but he did regardless. It was enough for him to, at the very least, fool himself into believing that _there was a chance_.

It was enough for him to decide not to give up. _Not just yet_. Because maybe, _maybe_, she wanted things to go back to the way they used to be. Maybe they _could_...

He didn't know. But, for just a moment, he wanted to pretend that it could, as his brows relaxed themselves and his lips twitched up as he rested his arms on his legs.

_Maybe_.

"You look hungry," He told her, jerking his head towards the door. "Let's go and get you some food, alright?" As Farrah gave a small nod, he stood up. _Maybe..._

* * *

"_Farrah mother-fucking Bowman_."

Said girl froze mid-chew, and turned slowly. Her shoulders drew up as her eyes met vaguely familiar gray ones belonging to a woman's. The woman was a few inches shorter than Farrah, with skin so tanned it almost looked _burnt_ and messy brown hair that could only be described as a _dusty_ sort of color. Scars decorated her bare arms, and the color change was so drastic they looked _white_. Farrah quickly swallowed her toast and bowed her head slightly as she bit down her surprise.

"_Ma_."

"Don't you _dare_ '_Ma_' me!" The woman scowled. "Do you know how - _I was startin' ta think you were dead!_ An' then you jus' _show up_ in the fuckin' kitchen! What the _fuck?!_"

A large, burly man shuffled over behind the short woman. His skin was pale and heavily freckled, with hazel eyes and black hair that fell over his head sloppily. His salt and pepper stubble was just starting to become a beard, and he looked at the woman blearily. "What are you shoutin', for, B...?"

The woman shook off the man's hand off of her shoulder angrily and stomped over to Far, tears in her eyes. Her hand raised to hit her and Damian moved to stop the woman, but _inches away from landing the hit_, Far grabbed her wrist and pulled it to a complete stop. Farrah's eyes were dark, as she stared the woman right in the eye, other hand curled into a fist and trembling as the girl fought the instinct to _fight back_.

The Talon _screamed_. _Kill_. She had been _attacked_ by someone who _wasn't from the Court_. Anyone else who laid a finger on her was to be _killed_. _Do what you were made to do_. Her pulse raced, her whole body trembled, her teeth ground together, and _just_ as she began to tighten her grip to break the wrist of the one who assaulted her, she heard a voice.

A quiet, sleepy voice. A voice, the _only_ voice that had never asked anything of her than to _try to not be sad_. One of the first voices to leave. The one that never asked her to do something that she knew would end horribly...

"Far...?" _Baron_.

Said girl froze and quickly dropped her mom's arm, turning and trying to hurry away because _Hell_ if she wanted her little brother to see her like this...

Farrah heard her mom protest, tell him to _not_... Her mom never got to finish. _Maybe it was better that she didn't_. Farrah felt arms wrap around one of her legs, and every single muscle, _including her heart_, stopped. Her stomach lurched as the toddler squealed.

"_Far!_ Far-far! Missed you!"

She swallowed thickly. Every limb felt like they were filled with cement, yet made of the thinnest, most fragile glass imaginable. The girl squeezed her eyes shut as she mentally wrestled with The Talon.

_Stay calm. Stay calm. Don't hurt Baron. Hurt _anyone_, but not him. _Never _him... Never, ever hurt him because he will _never _hurt us._

When she realized that she referred to The Talon as _us_, bile raised in her throat. _No, no, no_, she wasn't-_she didn't have to be that anymore_.

Baron went quiet as she didn't react, and without him squealing and giggling, the room went stone still.

"Farrah." Damian said lowly, gently, as though trying to calm a frenzied animal...

In a way, _he was_. And she _knew that_... A tremor ran through her, and she finally took a shuddery breath, eyes still squeezed shut as she muttered quietly, voice cracking, "Hi, Baron..."

That was enough for the toddler. He went right back on to squealing and hugging her legs, clumsily rambling on about things he'd been doing since she had been away and how much he had missed her, half of what he said mispronounced as he tried to use big words.

She dared not look back at her parents, _she was sure she would get looked at with horror and surprise_, and instead looked at Damian. He gave a small, approving nod and put a made cup of coffee in her reach.

The girl's shoulders sagged with relief. She didn't _like_ flinching when he moved towards her, after all, and he seemed to be catching on; and quickly at that. Giving a small nod of thanks, she grabbed it and took a good, long drink. It scalded her throat, and guessing from her friend's wince, _he knew_, but she barely even noticed because _Jesus_ it was nice to have somewhat fresh coffee for once.

Sure that her parents were still looking at her like she was _rabid_, she kept her back to them, shoulders raised as she stared at the small arms around her legs. Then, she heard dishes clatter and crash to the floor... _or rather_, she heard them _before_ they hit the floor. With a jerk and a pull, she moved Baron to her front, shielding him from the shattering glass with her legs before turning to see _what the hell that was_.

Alfred stood a meter away, looking pale as a ghost with his hands still up as though holding the tray. "I... _Farrah_."

"_Alfie_." She greeted faintly.

"You look..." He swallowed thickly as he tried to search for the right word. "_Pale_."

Looking at her arm, she nodded slightly in agreement, and Damian cleared his throat loudly. "_Pennyworth_. We... need to talk. Perhaps you should get Father...?"

The man nodded as he stammered, "I-I... _yes_. Perhaps we should..." He turned on his heel and walked stiffly out, only pausing when he passed Farrah's father and turning to glance back at the girl. "I... it is... _good to see you again_, if I may, madam..."

She nodded and glanced down at Baron once he left, apologizing under her breath as she nudged him back with her leg before grabbing a broom and a dustpan. Damian protested, but she ignored him and promptly began picking up the glass.

As she finished and put the glass in the trash bin, her father spoke up. "You're bleedin'."

Farrah blinked and twisted in place to look at her leg. Sure enough, footprints smudged with blood followed her path, and her shoulders dropped as she exhaled heavily. _Damn_.

The man walked over, slowly, cautiously, and moved to touch her, only to have his arm drop back to his side as she flinched. "Baby... _what did they do to you_...? You don't..." He looked like he struggled to get the words out. "You don't look like _you_... I mean, you do, but then you _don't_."

_As if she didn't know that_...

"So, Alfred wasn't lying." Farrah's gaze went up and met Bruce. _He didn't look happy_. "Farrah. Damian. I think we need to have a talk..."

Damian nodded. "_We do_."

The girl bit back a grimace. _Oh no_...

* * *

Bruce stared at Farrah, and for some reason, she felt like she was about to get _scolded_.

"Do you know why this happened...?"

_Oh boy..._

"There was a reason this happened."

_Here it comes_...

"You _weren't careful_." She shrunk in the chair as Bruce rested his arms on the desk. "Your uncle had _just gotten back _from being _abducted_. And you just _opened the door_." Biting back the urge to explain, she just bit her lip and stared at the ground, giving small nods at the appropriate times. "Do you know how many _nights_ we spent looking for you...? How many nights we lost sleep, because we were worried about _you?_"

The man exhaled sharply and pinched the bridge of your nose. "And what about Damian...? Do you know how _worried_-"

"_Father_."

"_No_, she needs to hear this." The man glared at the quiet redneck. "He didn't sleep, he _barely_ ate; for a while, I was worried he would _waste away_. And let's not forget how many nights he's woken up _yelling_."

Alfred shifted from his spot besides the desk. "Master Bruce... If I may... _why does it seem you are blaming her_...?"

"_Because I am!_" The man stood up abruptly, pulling a knife from under a desk and sticking it in the wood with a _bang!_ "Because she'd had _many_ opportunities to _leave_ the Court of Owls, and save us the _grief_. Save _Damian_ the _guilt_ and _depression_. I'm not mad that you got taken, Farrah, I'm mad that you _didn't come back when you had the chance!_ I'm angry that you robbed my son of restful nights! You _killed people_, Farrah."

As she stared at the ground like it was the most interesting thing in the world, wishing she had her mask, he began to list names.

"Ashley Goldmann. Elrond Beaufort. David Brovanski. _Remember them?_ You damn-well should, because you _killed them!_" His face turned red as a vein popped out of his neck.

_That tore it_. Farrah stood up abruptly, hands clenched tightly into fists. _She didn't need to take this_. The Talon was screaming, her heart was racing, and she just-

"It was either 'em er _me!_" She snarled, eyes dark as she bared her teeth. "Yew think Ah _wanted_ ta go an' kill 'em?! Yew think Ah _enjoyed_ it er somethin'?! Ah _enjoyed_ bein' starved an' tortured for months, is that what yew think?!" She tried to push her chair back, but in her anger, she sent it flying across the room and into the wall, one of the legs falling off. Bruce froze as the color drained from his face, and Farrah bit her lip so hard it bled. "Ah know Ah done wrong; Ah ain't a damn fool, Bruce! What d'ya wanna hear from me?! Yew think Ah don't regret what Ah did, that Ah don't see their faces in my nightmares ev'ry night?! Well, Ah _do!_"

Her nostrils flared as she turned her back to them. "Ah did what Ah could... but it was never _enough_. Ah couldn't jus' _not fulfill mah mission_, awlright?! Ah _couldn't_..." Her voice lost its vigor as her shoulders sank. "Ah became what Ah had ta, ta stay sane - ta stay _alive_. Ah became what they wanted." She exhaled heavily and let her head drop. "Look, jus'... let me be, _please_... the part a' me, the _Talon_, it still wants me ta kill. It's still tellin' me ta kill _Damian_, it's tellin' me that maybe there's still a chance they'll take me back, _maybe they'll still let me become their Talon_..."

The girl gave a shaky sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose, still trembling all over like a leaf in Autumn. "_Ah didn' wanna still be 'ere_... Ah was..." She gave a shaky laugh and turned to face the three silent men. "Ah was hopin' that they were gonna kill me, an' Ah _knew_ Ah was right to. It's... this is too hard." A grimace crossed her face as she tangled her fingers in her hair, muttering to herself shakily, "_Oh God_, why couldn't Ah have jus' _died_...? It would a' been so much easier..."

Alfred frowned, brows drawing together in sympathy. "Easier is not always better, madam Farrah..."

"Yeah, sure..." She walked over to the door, "Look, I... _I gotta go_. Y'all done went and got the blood pumpin', an' I don't... I don't wanna risk... _hurtin_' anyone," She swallowed thickly and gave a weak wave behind her, scared to look any of them it the eye, "I put myself through all this so I wouldn't hurt Damian. I fer _damn sure_ ain't gonna risk it... _Jus' gotta go_..."

And so, she slunk away.

When Damian finally gathered his bearings, _it was too late_. He couldn't find a single sign of her...

"_Damn it_." The teen muttered under his breath.

"Worry not, young master Damian," Alfred said gently as the boy stalked back in, "She _will_ turn up eventually."

"How can you know?"

The man hummed. "Simply a hunch, sir."

* * *

Hours later, long after the sun had fallen, Farrah padded down the hall as quietly as she could. _She had overreacted_. She knew that... but she had felt the need to defend herself, if just a bit, because _she really had tried_. Granted, sometimes more than others, but she really had...

Of course, she didn't expect applause or praise, but she still didn't like getting yelled at; not by the people, the _voices_ who mattered. And Bruce... Bruce had been one of them. He'd been one of the first to go, but that didn't make the fact of the matter any better; _him yelling at her had stung_. A lot, actually... It had riled her up, and it had _especially_ riled the Talon up. _That had been her biggest concern_. The Talon... she did her best to keep it caged, but it _knew_. It _knew_ when she faltered, and leaped to act when she was upset...

And worse still, it _always_ knew when she was. Because it was _her_. And that, that scared her because she _knew _ knew it. And there was nothing she could do to stop that, except to keep as calm as she could.

She'd very nearly let it loose, earlier, when she'd thrown the chair. _A near fatal mistake_.

The girl inhaled and exhaled, rubbing the scrape on her cheek. _Stay calm_...

As she stepped into the living room, she very nearly tripped over something on the ground, and gritted her teeth to keep from making noise. _Shit_.

Brushing herself off, she glanced down, only to freeze.

Baron mumbled under his breath and looked up at the girl drowsily, only to have his eyes light up as a smile crossed his face. "Far!" He moved and put his arms up, motioning for her to pick him up with a hum.

Farrah swallowed thickly. _It's okay_, she reminded herself in her head, _it's just Baron_. _You love Baron, Baron loves you. He loves you unconditionally, just like before - unlike everyone else_.

The toddler rubbed his eyes. "Wha's uncombishinible mean...?"

She jumped in place. _Whoops_... she'd said that out loud. Realizing that he was still waiting for an answer, she kneeled down besides him, flinching as he moved to lean against her but forcing herself to speak through the fear. "_Unconditional_. It means... it means you do somethin', no matter what happens..."

"_Oh_." He blinked blearily up at her, a tired smile on his face. "You'wer right, den..."

The girl heaved a breath as her lips twitched. "I know you do... Shouldn't you be in bed...?"

He curled closer, hugging her lightly. The toddler noticed when she winced, but didn't overlooked it as he nuzzled her stomach. "I was wait-waiting for you... I feww asweep... sowwy."

"S'okay," She breathed, placing a hand lightly on his head and ruffling his hair. "Let's... let's get you tucked in, okay? It's time fer bed."

Baron nodded, and she hooked her arm under his knees and armpits, scooping him to her chest and flinching as he buried his face in her neck, but continuing on her way to one of the chairs. As she held him with one hand and grabbed a blanket and pillow with the other, he mumbled sleepily, "I missed you..." before placing a kiss on her cheek.

Farrah tensed for a moment before shaking it off, setting him on the chair and covering him up. As she moved to stand up, he grabbed her hand and tugged her back to his level. He almost looked _worried_, as he asked timidly, "Did you miss me...?"

"I did," She assured him gently, brushing his hair back and placing her lips against his forehead, "I think... I think I missed you the most." He gave a drowsy smile, and the girl felt the weight on her back lighten just a _little bit more_ as she nuzzled the top of his head. "Don't tell anyone else...?"

"I won't." He whispered.

Biting her lip, she held out her pinkie. "_Pinkie promise_...?"

The boy giggled and wrapped his pinkie finger around hers. "_Pinkie promise_." As she leaned back, he stifled a yawn and nuzzled the pillow. "Far...? Are-are you... gonna be hewe tomorrow?"

With a shuddery breath, she let her lips twitch up. "I will... don't worry. Now go to sleep."

His head shot up as a thought hit him. "_What about - what about monstews undew the bed?_"

"There ain't no bed fer 'em ta hide under, baby." She reminded him patiently.

Still, he frowned. "What-what if... if they come twough the window...?"

Farrah resisted the urge to snort as she ran her fingers through his hair soothingly. "If any monsters try ta get ya, I'll _kill them_. They ain't touchin' a hair on yer head, sweet pea, don'tcha worry... Now sleep."

Baron bit his lip, but sunk back into the pillow. "Otay... Nighty night, Far."

"Nighty night," She replied quietly, patting his shoulder lightly before standing up.

As she reached the door, she heard his quiet voice call to her. "I love you."

Every muscle tensed, and she felt a wave of emotion come over her so strong, she had to lean against the doorway. A smile crossed her face as she looked at the ground. Granted, _it was a small one_, but it wasn't forced or half-hearted; it was a real, true, genuine _smile_, no matter. "I... _I love ya, too_, kid."

The girl tiptoed out, stepping into the kitchen...

_Only to get tackled into a hug_. Except... she didn't quite catch the last part of the previous sentence and thought that she was getting attacked; throwing the person onto the floor and making the ground jump.

Her hands tightened into fists as she raised them. "_Comin' ta finish me off?!_" She snarled, eyes dark as she spat, "Well, I ain't gonna make it easy!"

"_F-Farrah_, it-it's _me!_" Her hands dropped as the man picked himself back up, tears in his eyes as he looked her over. "Oh my... I-I'm _so_ sorry..."

A lump grew in her throat. "I... _Charlie?_"

Said man tried to smile, but she knew it was forced. He moved to hug the girl, only to stop as she flinched and shrunk away... Only, instead of looking _hurt_, like everyone else had, he nodded with understanding. "It-_it's fine_," He assured her gently, quietly, "I know... _I know_."

She relaxed and shifted in place, a smile on her face before she could stop it. Starting to ask how he had been, she froze as a thought hit her...

Grabbing the huge man by the collar and pulling him to her height, she demanded, "_Where're my mutts?!_"

Charlie gave a smile that looked like it had been his first smile in months (and who knows, _maybe it was_). "D-d-don't worry... they pr-probably went t-to Damian. They... _imprinted_ on him, to put it simply." His eyes glanced behind her, and his lips twitched. "_Speak of the devil_..."

She immediately released him and pinched the bridge of her nose as she sighed, "An' he doth appear. _Hello_, Damian..." As she turned, a lump grew in her throat. Thor, Ari, and Titus stood at his heels... _God_, Thor had gotten big... the pup wasn't quite a pup anymore. The mutt was now the size of a large german shepherd.

They didn't recognize her, no... and _she couldn't blame them_, either. If her name hadn't been burned into her brain, she wouldn't know who she was, either.

But _Ari_... that damned mutt that Farrah had raised since before she could walk - her ears perked up, and the dog cocked her head to the side, taking a tentative step closer while sniffing the air. The Dane mix's tail twitched to life, and Farrah held her breath because _no_... it wasn't possible that the dog recognized her; for how could she, if the girl herself couldn't...?

The dog, that _stupid mutt_, took a running start and leapt into the girl's arms, sending her to the ground and licking her chin furiously with her tail whipping around in a circle.

For a small eternity, Far didn't know _what_ to do, as the large dog nuzzled and licked the top of her head, whining lowly while her tail wagged. Finally, the tired girl just reached up and rubbed the mutt's ear, much to the dog's content, and rested her head against the dog's. "How do, mutt...?"

At the sound of her voice, Thor's ears pricked, and the dog cocked his head to the side before _leaping_ at her, whining and yipping and groaning as he squirmed and wriggled in her lap, nudging her chin.

Far's lips twitched up as she hugged both of the dogs, burying her face in Thor's furry neck. "I don't know _how_ you guys can recognize me, when I myself barely can... but, _God_, I missed ya two." She sniffled before she could stop it, and held them to her closer. "Daggon it..."

Charlie smiled at the sight, and leaned against the counter, shoving his hands in his pockets. "They-they missed you, too. They _refused_ to leave the door the first month you were... gone."

As the girl sniffled again, Damian raised a brow and stepped closer. "Are you... _alright_...?"

"Oh, I'm _fine_," Her voice cracked as she kept her face hidden, "As long as I got my pups... I'm _fine_..."

* * *

**Author's note~**

**People still kind of freak Farrah out, but _puppies?_ No problem.**

**Up next! Pretty much everyone makes Farrah talk to a psychologist, and... it actually doesn't really help... In fact, all it does is throw the whole '_Court of Owls_' ordeal back in her face. DUN DUN DUUUN. Just a heads up - this one might take a while... I'm gonna have to do some research on psycology and stuff because I try to keep this stuff as accurate and realistic as a fanfiction for a superhero comic can get. TO THE LIBRARY!**

**SO. I love you guys. I feel like it's been too long since I threw that out there. ILU! Thanks so so much for taking the time to read my doofy story. Even if you didn't like it, I still really appreciate that you took time out of your day to read my abomination! I could seriously write 5,000 words easy about how much I love you guys.**

**As always, tell me if I made any errors in and or around here; and I hope my goofy tale made you smile a bit :)**

******Try to bear with me, guys! ****ʕ´ᴥ`ʔ Peace off and bless all of your faces! If you sneezed while reading, bless _you_.  
**

_**********Boop!**_

**********, _Blue_**


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